I Keep This Love In A Photograph
by ComicKid99
Summary: Photographer Leo Fitz gets his big break when a job working for a major modelling firm presents itself, leading to him meeting the beautiful Jemma Simmons. As they grow closer, it becomes clear that a battle between their feelings and their dreams is emerging. Fitzsimmons AU.
1. Chapter 1

Leo Fitz stared at the grubby floor of the tube train as he sped through the London Underground. He wanted to close his eyes to get away from the irritating lights that flickered every other second but knew if he did he'd more than likely end up falling asleep. It certainly wouldn't be the first time it had happened; he'd been late to meetings for that sole reason far too many times.

The stench of the tube was enough to put him off any remote feelings of happiness or joy; it was full to bursting with sweaty, sickly people coughing all over each other or nearly punching others in the face as they held a book out in front of themselves. Leo was practically pressed against the metal door and had been for a good ten minutes, meaning his back was beginning to ache from where his heavy black case was strapped over his shoulder and digging into him.

On top of that, he knew the second he got out of that boiling, grotty, putrid metal cage he'd spend much longer than he should do zig zagging through a ridiculous amount of people to get out of the underground and onto the streets of London. And when he did, the forecasted torrential rain would be constantly smacking against him as he hurriedly made his way to work.

He rolled his sleeve up to check the time – he still had half an hour and not much left of a torturous tube journey, so at least that was one thing that wouldn't get him down. It was just a shame about the thirty billion things that did.

As he struggled to breath due to an overweight (or as his mother said, 'horizontally challenged') man leaning into his chest, Leo's thoughts returned to the question he'd asked himself every time he'd taken such a similar journey.

How did it all come to this?

He thought being a photographer would be a perfect way of life. He'd be doing something he enjoyed and earning money for it; he'd always been good at it and his college tutor was always so enthusiastic about the work he produced. He'd wanted to pursue a career in it, and he did. Except instead of raking in thousands of pounds and living a life of luxury, he was stuck travelling on a tube with a heavy camera in a better condition than he was over his shoulder on his way to make just enough money to pay the rent.

It's not like he even got anything culturally stimulating and exciting from it. Jobs were rare as it was, so he had to take any he could get, but he'd never gotten to take beautiful landscape shots or snap famous celebrities. He was taking photos of people who were still unknown but still more successful than him. Leo Fitz was the underdog to the underdog.

He'd been so full of energy and hope when he'd moved to London (despite his mother's reservations about his career choice) and it had all been drained away as time went on. He just wasn't getting the thrill from photography he used to – there was nothing to be excited for and nothing to inject happiness into his life. He was single, practically penniless and ashamed of himself; so much for a perfect way of life.

After enduring the rest of the journey, Leo navigated through the maze of passengers and out into the busy streets. Holding his camera case over his head to shelter him from the rain, he moved hurriedly down road after road before finally reaching his destination – May's Modelling, the rising star of the modelling world. It was a somewhat new company but it had been making a hell of an impact; the founder, Melinda May, was quickly becoming something of an icon.

Leo had been surprised when May's Modelling contacted him directly asking for his services, claiming to have seen his work online and being impressed. He was reluctant to accept since Melinda May was rumoured to be absolutely terrifying, but he needed the money and May's paid exceptionally well.

The building itself was a pristine white with black and red furniture in each and every room; Leo appreciated the consistency as he was directed to the fifth floor, which was reserved solely for Melinda May herself to work from. Leo looked around and noticed that the view from the large panel windows would be incredible when the sun was out.

In all of the commotion of the journey and taking in the building itself, Leo hadn't taken notice of the woman sat smiling at him behind a glossy black desk. It was packed with notepads and phones and books and magazines yet it was all kept very tidy and organised. In fact, the only thing Leo didn't particularly like was the large red lamps hanging from the ceiling; they were just a bit too bright.

"…Can I help you?" The woman at the desk smiled politely. Leo finally noticed her and was taken back by her beauty. Did the models do the admin work as well? She had soft brown hair and matching eyes, and a natural warmth to her and her voice. Quite appropriate qualities for a receptionist, Leo noted.

"…Yeah. Sorry. Didn't see you there; I was kinda overwhelmed by all this." Leo smiled nervously, hoping he could blame his blushing cheeks on the overbearing lighting.

"I was the same when I first came here, don't worry. I still wish they'd change the lights, but Melinda likes it so I have to pretend to." The woman smiled. Leo looked at the nametag on the pretty woman and saw her name was Jemma. He'd always liked that name.

"She must like you if you call her Melinda." Leo noted.

"She demands everyone be on first name terms here; she lives for mutual respect, it's quite an endearing quality. I take it you have an appointment with her since they sent you up here?" Jemma wondered.

"Oh, yeah. Well, I'm supposed to be taking photos for her, apparently." Leo explained.

"Your camera case looks wet; will you be able to without electrocuting yourself?" Jemma smiled.

"I would hope so. I used it as cover as I walked down here. I needed to keep myself dry, didn't I?" Leo chuckled.

"Have you heard of a clever little device called an umbrella?" Jemma giggled adorably (Leo found it adorable, anyway).

"I…I have. That would have been a good idea." Leo chuckled.

"What time is your appointment?" Jemma asked.

"Uh, quarter to. I'm a bit early." Leo revealed.

"Melinda will appreciate that." Jemma said, typing some details into the computer in front of her while Leo stared at the door on the opposite end of the room where Melinda May was likely to be sat on the other side of.

"…Oh my god! You're Leo Fitz?" Jemma asked excitedly as details came up on her computer.

"Uh, yeah. Why?" Leo asked, confused.

"…This is amazing!" Jemma squealed.

"…I think I'm missing something." Leo said.

"…Oh, sorry, I just…well…I'm Melinda's personal assistant, you see. I interviewed for the job about a month ago and there were four other people who applied. As part of our interviews we had to pitch the work of a little-known photographer as if we wanted Melinda to hire them to do work for the firm. I, uh…I pitched you." Jemma admitted, slightly embarrassed as she got to the end of her explanation.

"…You did? Really? Me?" Leo asked, bewildered and flattered.

"Yeah. I was searching through blog after blog online for someone to pitch, about to give up and withdraw my application completely and then I came across yours. It blew me away, honestly. Melinda normally doesn't follow up on anyone's pitches, but she looked at your site and told me she'd hired you. It'd slipped my mind that it was today!" Jemma explained happily.

"Wow. I don't know what to say." Leo said with a grin.

"You could say, "thank you Jemma, for getting me a job"." Jemma teased playfully.

"Technically, I got _you_ a job too." Leo smiled.

"…That you did." Jemma smiled back.

Leo noticed that Jemma's smile lit up the room far better than the lights could ever hope to. Jemma noticed that Leo had the most gorgeous blue eyes.

"I applaud your bravery, facing Melinda May in person like that." Leo said when he decided he'd been staring at Jemma so long she was probably getting freak out (though she was too busy staring at him to notice).

"She's actually really nice when you get to know her; show her respect and you'll get it back. Plus, I needed to get this job. From this position you can work your way up in the field and either take a managerial role in the firm or become a model for them. I've dreamt of being a model since I was a little girl, but I only seriously started exploring it in the last few years." Jemma explained.

"Well I, uh, I hope you make it. Maybe I could take some photos of you some day. NOT IN A WEIRD WAY. Not like, 'there's great lighting in my basement', but because you'd be a model and I'd be a photographer…sorry, I ramble and say stupid things in front of beautiful girls. NOT THAT I…I mean, not _beautiful_ girls…I mean, you _are_ beautiful but I didn't want to imply that…I need to stop." Leo said, his face bright red. Jemma stared at him and chuckled lightly.

"You're sweet." She said sweetly. Leo smiled at her before the door on the other end of the room opened and Melinda May herself stepped out, dressed in a stylish black outfit and walking like she owned the world (at the rate she was going, she probably would one day).

"…Is this him?" Melinda asked, looking Leo up and down.

"Yes. This is Leo Fitz." Jemma smiled. Leo gulped nervously.

"You're a little soggy." Melinda stated.

"…I am, yes." Leo nodded.

"I've just got a few emails to send. Send him in in two minutes." Melinda ordered and Jemma nodded as she headed back into her office.

"…So that's Melinda." Jemma said.

"I think she hates me." Leo said nervously.

"She's like that with everyone she doesn't know, don't worry. Hang on; let me get you a towel to dry yourself off a bit." Jemma said, rushing into the room behind her desk and returning with a towel, handing it to Leo with a smile and watching as he rubbed his face and hair dry.

"Thanks." Leo said.

"No problem." Jemma smiled.

"I've been dripping all over the floor." Leo said.

"Don't worry about that, you need to go in. I'll mop it up." Jemma said, taking the towel back and gesturing towards the door.

"…Okay. Thank you." Leo said, cautiously walking over to the door. As he reached it, he turned back and saw Jemma mouth 'good luck' with a wide grin. He smiled back, opened the door and headed inside.

The décor of Melinda May's office was in keeping with the rest of the building; red panelled windows, black desk and an impressive set up of computers and monitors mounted on the walls. A puffy red sofa was pressed against one wall, upon which Melinda May was sat.

"…Are you having a stroke?" Melinda asked.

"Uh, no." Leo said.

"Then why don't you sit down?" Melinda asked, gesturing to the space next to her on the sofa. Leo nodded and hurried over, sitting down and taking his camera case off and gently placing it by his side.

"Don't look so nervous, we've already hired you." Melinda said.

"Doesn't mean you can't fire me, though." Leo said.

"…A good point." Melinda nodded.

"I'm very grateful for the opportunity." Leo said.

"I know. You seem quite uplifted despite being damp with rain." Melinda observed.

"Well, I'm excited to be working here." Leo explained.

"Really, because when I was watching you through the CCTV when you walked in you looked like you'd been hit by two buses and slapped in the face." Melinda said.

"…Thank you?"

"You think that's a good thing?" Melinda asked.

"I doubt it."

"Correct. Something tells me it was my personal assistant that put you in a good mood." Melinda smirked.

"…Well, she's a fan of my work. That's always flattering to hear, especially when you're an unknown." Leo explained.

"She certainly is. The passion and enthusiasm she showed for you work is what got her the job, and what got me interested in your blog. I was rather impressed with your style. I was anxious to find out why you have never taken a photo straight on. Your photos are always on angles or from a different perspective." Melinda said.

"Because life is art, so art should reflect life. Life is never simple or straight forward, so my work shouldn't be." Leo explained. Melinda smiled at his answer.

"That's a very good answer. I'm glad to see you possess a lot of intelligence. Before I work with a photographer I need to get to know them and get a sense of them, hence why I'm asking you all of this and why I observed you as you walked in today. I like you and your portfolio, but do you know what would have happened if you walked in here today and left me unimpressed?" Melinda asked.

"I'd be fired." Leo said.

"No, I'd have let you do your job anyway. You know why?" Melinda wondered.

"Why?"

"Because Jemma likes your work, and I trust Jemma. I wanted a few promotional shots done with our three new models, but I wanted mirrors incorporated into the background. I thought your use of angles would come in handy; I'd been waiting for a job for you to come along and I found one. How long do you think it'll take?" Melinda asked.

"As long as it takes to get it right." Leo answered and Melinda smiled.

"Right answer."

"I didn't know that was a test." Leo said.

"When you work for me, everything's a test. If you pass, you'll almost certainly be getting more jobs from me again. I'll introduce you to the models then we can head to the studio on the floor above where the shoot has been set up. Ready?" Melinda asked.

"Absolutely. I won't let you down." Leo said.

"I'd hope not. It wouldn't be wise to do that. You're Scottish; disappoint me and you'd be begging for the fate of William Wallace compared to what I'd do." Melinda said, standing up and leading him to the door. Leo had no idea if she was joking or not.

The two headed out and Jemma smiled at them as she sat at the desk stapling some papers together.

"Head to the lift at the end of the corridor. I'll be right there." Melinda ordered and Leo nodded, waving at Jemma as he left. Jemma waved back with a smile before turning to Melinda.

"Well?" Jemma asked.

"…He shows promise." Melinda said.

"That's high praise as far as you're concerned." Jemma grinned.

"You have a good taste in photographers, Jemma. Don't lose that. Though I don't think it was his photography skills that struck you about him today. You haven't been able to take the smile off your face since I took him into my office." Melinda smirked.

"…You said you would never watch me on the CCTV again!" Jemma stated.

"I say a lot of things. Expect to see a lot more of Leo Fitz around here." Melinda smiled before walking out and leaving Jemma alone with her thoughts.

The smile on her face grew even wider.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm back!" Jemma yelled as she entered her apartment, a huge bag of folders in her hand to go through that evening on Melinda's behalf. She never ceased to be amazed by the view offered by living on the twelfth floor of an apartment building; London never failed to look interesting whatever the weather.

She also loved the look of her apartment, with baby blue walls, laminate flooring and matching furniture (she redecorated within weeks of starting to work for Melinda May). What she didn't love, however, was the mess it was currently in. There were paper scraps on the floor, used plates in every nook and cranny and discarded clothes thrown about and beginning to smell.

"Daisy!" Jemma shouted again. The bathroom door on the opposite end of the apartment opened and Jemma's roommate Daisy Johnson walked out, somehow still looking presentable with no make-up, scruffy hair and floral pyjamas.

"How was work?" Daisy asked. Jemma sighed.

"When I left this morning, the apartment was a little dirty and you promised to clean it. It looks even worse!" Jemma stated.

"I was cleaning my room, which I also promised to do so you can't be mad at me." Daisy argued.

"Picking up all the used paper, plates and clothes from your room and dumping them in another room is not cleaning, Daisy!" Jemma exclaimed.

"Come on Jem, it's my only day off this week! I don't want to spend the whole day cleaning!" Daisy said.

"But it's okay for me to do it even though I haven't had a proper day off in a month?" Jemma asked sarcastically. Daisy grinned cheekily.

"There's the Jemma I love. I'm gonna have a shower." Daisy said.

"Fine, but when you get out you're helping me clean up this mess!" Jemma announced, dumping the bag of folders on the kitchen table with a smile, something Daisy picked up on and rushed up to her.

"What's that on your face?" Daisy asked.

"What?" Jemma wondered, touching her cheeks.

"That's…that's a smile!" Daisy joked.

"Shut up." Jemma laughed, unpacking the folders.

"Staring at your workload and smiling is a very new sight. Good day?" Daisy asked.

"Yes, if you must know." Jemma said.

"Whhyyyyyyyy?" Daisy teased like a prying child, leaning forward onto the table towards Jemma.

"What's that?" Jemma asked, pointing at Daisy.

"What?"

"Oh, I know what it is – none of your business." Jemma smirked, moving over to the couch and stretching out her legs so Daisy couldn't sit next to her. Daisy chuckled and she lifted Jemma's legs up and managed to sit down, Jemma's legs resting on her lap.

"First a smile and now decent comebacks? What's happened to you today?" Daisy wondered.

"…Don't make a fuss, alright?" Jemma begged, secretly desperate to tell Daisy all about it.

"Cross my heart." Daisy swore.

"…So, uh…so there was this guy…" Jemma blushed. Daisy's head nearly flew off her neck at the speed in which she faced Jemma with a huge look of shock and joy on her face.

"Shut. Up. Office sex?!" Daisy asked.

"No! Nothing like that! Don't be so crude." Jemma said.

"Okay, okay, whatever. A guy walks into a modelling firm. Sounds kinda gay to me." Daisy teased.

"He's not gay, shut up."

"Until you have office sex with him, you can't be sure."

"Daisy, I swear…"

"Right, sorry! Go on. There was a guy…" Daisy prompted.

"…Yeah. He came to see Melinda, obviously, but we had a few minutes alone and…I don't know, I guess I just haven't been able to talk to a guy so naturally like that in a long time. There was just something about him. I'm probably overthinking it; we didn't really talk for that long." Jemma explained.

"That doesn't matter, Jem! This is a big step for you! It's been almost a year since you and Milton broke up; it's about time you got yourself back out there. Attractive, I take it?" Daisy asked.

"Very." Jemma blushed.

"What else?"

"It turns out he's the photographer I pitched to Melinda May for my interview. Leo Fitz." Jemma revealed.

"Shut your ass up! This is, like, destiny!" Daisy exclaimed.

"Let's not go that far just yet." Jemma chuckled.

"Are you gonna see him again?"

"He spent a few hours taking shots for Melinda, and when she came back she said she was really impressed so fingers crossed." Jemma smiled.

"Jem, this is HUGE. You're smoking hot and if you're talking to me about this guy like this, I can guarantee he's gushing about you to someone." Daisy said excitedly.

"That's very wishful thinking." Jemma sighed.

…

Leo flew into his apartment and looked around. The cream walls, brownish carpet and elegant décor were all there, but his roommate was not.

"Lance? I'm back!" Leo shouted. Suddenly, Lance appeared from the hallway at the end of the apartment, rushing out from his bedroom.

"How did it go? Did you meet some hot models? Did you make out with any?" Lance asked rapidly.

"…Which of those do I answer first?" Leo asked.

"You really think I care how it went? Tell me about the models! Did you have to take pictures of any?" Lance wondered.

"That _is_ my job, Lance." Leo chuckled.

"I know that! I mean, what kind of things did you have to do with them? How many were there?"

"Three."

"You got paid to take photos of THREE models? You lucky bastard." Lance sighed.

"Melinda May was super happy with the shots, too. I'm going back tomorrow to help her choose which three to use for the official promo shots they'll send out to other companies." Leo explained happily.

"Great, great. Were they hot? I bet they were hot." Lance demanded, sitting down on the couch excitedly as Leo placed his camera bag on the dinner table.

"Uh, I guess." Leo said. Lance stood up and looked at him in confusion.

"You…you _guess_?"

"Well…they're models. They were all pretty." Leo said.

"I won't lie, mate; I was expecting a bit more detail." Lance said.

"…If I'm honest, there was this really cute girl working at the desk and I was thinking about her more than the models." Leo admitted. Lance stared at him blankly for a few moments.

"Women are utterly wasted on you." Lance sighed eventually.

"Oh, come on."

"You're actually telling me that you entered a building full of beautiful models and you were most attracted to the receptionist?" Lance asked.

"She's actually a personal assistant to Melinda May, but…yeah, I suppose." Leo said.

"Bloody hell! She's a _personal assistant_ – that changes _everything_ , I take all of that mockery back!" Lance exclaimed sarcastically.

"Well, I'm so sorry for actually taking a genuine interest in a woman on an emotional level. And for the record, she hopes to be a model one day and she's extremely attractive, so hush! She was really nice to me. There were lots of smiles." Leo explained happily.

"Have you considered she was, I don't know, doing her job? No one likes a bitchy receptionist." Lance said.

"…Personal assistant." Leo corrected.

"Don't make me punch that stubble off your chin."

"Do you have to be such an arse about this? I went to do a job, not hook up with models! I'm here having a career breakthrough and having just met a really nice girl and all you care about is the sex side of things!" Leo shouted, annoyed.

"…You're right, I'm a knob. I'm sorry. And I am glad things are going well for you. Tell me about this girl." Lance prompted.

"Her name's Jemma, and she was the one who put me on Melinda May's radar in the first place. I owe her this job." Leo explained. Lance put his head in his hands and started chuckling.

"Well why the hell didn't you start with that?! That's fate, that is!" Lance exclaimed.

"…Are you mocking me again?" Leo frowned.

"No, mate! I've been a big believer in fate ever since my ex who dumped me for another bloke got hit by a car the next day." Lance smiled.

"Lance, that's awful."

"She survived, calm down. I sent her flowers."

"Well, that's nice." Leo nodded.

"Only because I knew she was allergic to them."

"Lance!"

"I'm joking! I sent her chocolates. Only because she's diabetic." Lance sneered.

"You're a horrible person." Leo chuckled.

"Tell me something I don't know. Well, are you gonna see this Jemma again when you go in tomorrow?" Lance asked.

"I hope so."

"You gonna ask her out?"

"I…I don't know. We didn't actually talk for all that long – I'm probably just being overenthusiastic about it." Leo admitted solemnly.

"Like the time you thought that girl was blowing kisses at you but she was choking on her food." Lance remembered, desperately holding in laughter.

"You're a prick." Leo said. Lance placed a comforting hand on Leo's shoulder.

"Look mate, all I can say is if you're this into her after a brief conversation you should ask her out. If she says yes, you're gonna be super happy. If she says no, find out what she's allergic to."

…

"NO WAY! JEMMA! JEMMA!" Daisy exclaimed that night as she sat on the couch with a laptop. Jemma hurried in from her bedroom in a panic.

"What? Is everything okay?" Jemma asked.

"Melinda May just emailed you her schedule for tomorrow!" Daisy revealed.

"…You hacked into my emails?!"

"Come on Jem, I know you have your passwords written on a piece of paper under the mat in your bedroom." Daisy chuckled.

"Why would you even do that, Daisy? That's a huge invasion of privacy!" Jemma shouted.

"I was just checking to see if my Amazon delivery had been dispatched yet, calm down." Daisy mumbled.

"Why don't you order them with your own details then?!" Jemma asked.

"I've told you this time after time; that's how my crazy stalker ex-boyfriend found out my address when I moved! Never again, Jemma!" Daisy said.

"You found him crazy because he hacked into your emails to get your address? Are you not seeing the irony here?" Jemma asked, arms folded.

"Will you stop being all confrontational for a minute and come and see this email?" Daisy asked. Jemma sighed and sat next to Daisy on the couch, looking at the laptop screen.

"Melinda always emails me her schedule the night before, what's the big deal?" Jemma asked.

"THAT is the big deal. She's scheduled in a 10am meeting with -"

"- Leo Fitz. Oh Christ." Jemma read, her eyes widening and heart thumping.

"If you end up having office sex, text me as soon as you can."

…

"Good morning, Jemma." Melinda smiled as she entered the office the next day. Jemma smiled back from her desk.

"Good morning, Melinda. You're 9am appointment said they'd be here in approximately five minutes." Jemma revealed and Melinda nodded understandingly.

"Thank you. I like your dress, by the way." Melinda said, observing Jemma dressed in a rather tight fitting red dress that cut off just above the knees.

"Oh, thank you very much. Just fancied wearing it today; it's been a while since I wore this one." Jemma said.

"I've never seen you wear anything so short." Melinda noted with a knowing smirk.

"…Well, like I say, it's been a while since I wore this." Jemma nodded, her cheeks growing red.

"Is that why the price tag is still sticking out of the top?" Melinda smiled. Jemma's eyes widened as she felt for the tag, found it and pulled it off.

"Thank goodness for that; I thought I was coming down with a rash from dinner last night! I thought salmon had never made me itch before!" Jemma revealed, discarding the tag in the bin as Melinda laughed quietly.

"So, a brand new, tightly fitting short dress…any particular reason for it?" Melinda enquired.

"…No."

"So, you didn't go out and buy it this morning when you saw who I have a meeting with at 10am today?" Melinda wondered.

"Definitely not! No way! Ew! For Leo Fitz?! Nope. Never. No. Not at all." Jemma blabbed and Melinda laughed.

"Never go into acting, Jemma." Melinda smiled as she headed into her office. As the door closed, Jemma smiled herself.

…

Leo took a few deep breaths as he headed up the stairs towards Melinda's office (and more importantly, Jemma's desk). He'd gotten the earlier tube so he had managed to be a whole half hour early for his appointment, meaning he had more time to speak to Jemma. Well, if Jemma wanted to talk to him, that is. For all he knew, she could think he was a complete prat.

His heart beating out of his chest, he pushed open the door and walked in, instantly turning to Jemma's desk and putting on his most mysterious and sexy expression.

No one was at the desk.

Leo took a few moments and cautiously walked up to the desk anyway, looking around for any signs of life. Suddenly, the door to the room behind the desk opened and Leo's eyes met Jemma's once again.

"Holy shit." Leo muttered under his breath the second he saw Jemma in _that_ dress. She looked better than any of the models did the day before. Jemma couldn't help but smile as she saw Leo was holding a now folded up umbrella in his hand. Well, that and the fact that he looked extremely handsome in his blue and green tartan shirt.

"…Hello again." Jemma mustered eventually as she sat back at her desk.

"Hi." Leo smiled.

"You're rather early." Jemma noted, hardly able to look him in the eye without blushing.

"Yeah, I, uh…I guess I must be keen." Leo said.

"Nothing wrong with that." Jemma smiled. Leo smiled back.

"Oh! I, uh…I came prepared today." Leo chuckled, holding up his umbrella.

"You're learning." Jemma giggled.

"So, you uh…you don't mind me waiting here until my meeting, do you? I mean, I could always come back if -"

"-NO, no…it's fine! There's plenty of room for you. I'm, uh…I'm sure I can put up with you for a little bit." Jemma smirked. Leo smiled at her and Jemma knew that if she'd have been standing the look he was giving her would have sent her crashing to her knees.

Not in a dirty way, though. Well, unless he was up for it.

"You're here very early." Melinda said before even stepping out of her office.

"…You saw me on the CCTV, right?" Leo asked and Melinda smiled.

"Fast learner." She said.

"I'm happy to uh, to wait…if you're still occupied." Leo said, sneaking a look at Jemma, who was trying her best not to smile and blush.

"…Oh, no! You know what I've just remembered?" Melinda exclaimed.

"What?" Jemma asked.

"I have to go to a parent-teacher meeting for my son at 10am. It completely slipped my mind!" Melinda said, shaking her head.

"…You…you don't have a son." Jemma noted.

"… _Yes I do_. I have to go right now if I'm going to make it. You know what? Leo, Jemma can help you narrow down the photos we'll use for the official promotional shots. I trust you both to make the right choices. I should be back in time for my 12 o' clock. If that's okay?" Melinda asked.

"Uh…yeah, of course." Leo said, blushing as he looked at Jemma, who was staring at Melinda in confusion.

"I'm sorry about that. I'll see you both later. Feel free to discuss in my office; we're not expecting anyone for hours anyway. Don't let me down!" Melinda said, heading out towards the exit. Just before leaving, she turned and gave Jemma a wink and walked out with a satisfied smirk.

Now left alone, Leo and Jemma shared an awkward laugh through the tension in the air.

"…You don't need to stay, really. I'm sure I could reschedule something." Jemma smiled.

"…No, no, it's uh…it's fine. I'm here now anyway. I-I mean, i-if you don't mind helping me?" Leo wondered.

"…Okay. Sure." Jemma nodded and Leo grinned.

"Great. Uh, shall we?" Leo asked, gesturing towards Melinda's office with a smile. Jemma smiled back, standing up and walking around her desk to join Leo.

"We shall."


	3. Chapter 3

"Would you like a cup of tea before we get started?" Jemma asked as Leo headed into Melinda's office. He turned to her with a grateful smile.

"That'd be great, thank you." He said.

"How do you take it?" Jemma asked.

"Oh, milk and two sugars, please." Leo said and Jemma smiled.

"Just the way I have it, then."

"You must have good taste." Leo chuckled.

"…I believe I do." Jemma said with curved lips as she headed out of the room. She ran behind her desk, pulled a small mirror out of her bag and inspected her reflection thoroughly. She pushed her hair up to give it more bounce, reapplied her lipstick and readjusted her dress to accentuate certain features before walking back into the office.

"That was quick." Leo noted as she entered back into the room. He was distracted by sorting out the various photos taken the previous day on Melinda's desk.

"Oh, the tea! Sorry! Be right back!" Jemma panicked before rushing out, silently cursing herself as she went to make the tea.

The second she left his sight, Leo hurried over to the mirror hanging on the wall. He concluded it was probably too late to have a face transplant with Ryan Gosling in order to attract a goddess like Jemma, so he had to make do. He ruffled his hair to bring some life back into it, straightened his shirt out and cursed the day he cancelled his gym membership. After a final sniff of the armpits (which thankfully didn't smell), Leo walked casually back over to the photos and waited for Jemma's return.

He wasn't exactly sure why he was making such an effort when Jemma probably wasn't interested anyway. She was probably dating one of the male models that worked for the firm with huge arms and six packs. He could barely lift a six pack of rolls more than anything else.

As he sat down in Melinda's chair (and had too much fun swivelling around in circles over and over again), his attention was grabbed by the view out of the large window. By this point the sun had come out and was reflecting onto the damp floor and puddles scattered along the streets. London was quite literally shining. With an impressed smile, he swivelled around in circles on the chair a few more times, stopping only at the sight of Jemma smirking at the door, a tray with two mugs on it in her hands.

"Having fun?" She chuckled.

"…Yeah. Sorry." Leo said, embarrassed.

"I do that whenever she's not around, too. She's just asking for a poor work ethic by giving us all swivel chairs." Jemma smiled, placing the tray on the desk and pulling up a chair to sit opposite Leo.

"There's no point in being older if you're not a child once in a while." Leo said.

"Exactly." Jemma said, handing a mug of tea to Leo.

"Thanks."

"You're very welcome."

After a few moments of sipping tea and inspecting photos, Jemma was the first to speak up.

"These are all very good. You did an incredible job." Jemma nodded approvingly.

"You think?" Leo asked, flattered.

"Absolutely. Having a different colour light reflecting off the mirrors for each person was a great touch. It adds a sense of individuality that will help them all stand out." Jemma noted.

"…Thank you. You know your stuff." Leo said, impressed.

"You have to when you work for Melinda May. Shall we start with the shots of Little Miss Needs A Burger Or Ten?" Jemma suggested with a smirk as Leo chuckled.

"For someone who's working their way up to being a model themselves, I'm surprised you'd say that." Leo said.

"Why? Do you think I'm not skinny enough?" Jemma asked nervously.

"NO! No, of course not! Please, you could be a model today and not look out of place. You'd make everyone _else_ look out of place." Leo said. Jemma blushed and looked down at the floor in her shyness while Leo thanked the heavens that Lance wasn't there to hear him say that.

"…Well, um…what one do you like the best?" Jemma asked eventually, gesturing towards the four printed photos of the first model.

"Oh, uh…well, obviously they're all perfect shots…" Leo began with a smirk as Jemma giggled.

"…but I like this one here; the light twinkles in her eye a bit there, whereas it doesn't quite line up in the others. I feel like that stands out a bit more." Leo finished.

"I was going to say the same thing. I'm looking at this as me thinking 'If I were a model, what photo would I want to represent me to potential employers?' and I definitely agree with you there." Jemma nodded in agreement.

"…Well, that was easy." Leo chuckled, filing away the chosen photo and laying out the next set for them to choose from.

"Right then, what's the nickname for this woman?" Leo asked Jemma with a smirk.

"I think it's your turn to choose." Jemma smiled, chuckling as Leo took his time to look over the photographs thoroughly.

"Spock. Her eyes are a bit pointy." Leo nodded and Jemma burst out laughing.

"You can't say that!"

"I just did. I'm sure she's lovely, but she has Vulcan ears." Leo smiled.

"But she's a model, she's gorgeous." Jemma grinned.

"Eye of the beholder and all that, if you recall." Leo said, unable to take his eyes off of Jemma for a few moments.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Jemma quoted. Leo's face dropped as he stared at her.

"Did…d-did you just…q-quote Star Trek?" He asked.

"Yep. The Wrath of Khan, I think it was." Jemma nodded, deep in thought.

"Marry me." Leo whispered.

"What?" Jemma asked.

"Uh, I said…can it be? Can it be…that you watch Star Trek?"

"Oh, I love that entire genre. Although my favourite is probably -"

"– Doctor Who is my favourite." Leo interrupted. Jemma gazed at him in awe.

"MINE TOO!" She exclaimed.

"Seriously? My roommate can't stand it!" Leo grinned.

"Neither can mine, but I love it nonetheless!" Jemma smiled.

"…That's…that's awesome. I haven't met anyone who likes it for a long while." Leo said.

"Neither have I. Shall we stick it on Melinda's TV?" Jemma jokingly suggested.

"While drinking our identical cups of tea?" Leo added and Jemma laughed.

"It's a date. Well, not a _date_. You know, I was only joking, I…"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry." Leo said, preventing Jemma from embarrassing herself any further.

"…Anyway…uh, which is your favourite picture of Spock?" Jemma asked.

"Um…I'd say it's between this first one with the two mirrors in the background or this one with her looking back at the camera." Leo said, pointing out the specific photos as he spoke.

"I'd go for the one where she's looking back at the camera. It's more elegant." Jemma suggested.

"Right then, we'll go for that. If Melinda trusts you, so do I." Leo smiled and Jemma smiled back.

"Okay then…let's see…" Jemma said as she filed the chosen photo away and got out the third and final set of shots with the third model.

After a moment of inspection, Jemma noticed Leo was smiling at her.

"What?" She grinned.

"I'm waiting for your nickname suggestion." Leo smirked.

"Oh, okay. Um…Cruella De Vil." Jemma laughed and Leo laughed with her.

"And you say _I'm_ terrible!" Leo chuckled.

"Let's be honest, those highlights are a mess." Jemma giggled.

"In that case, surely the one to go for is the side profile. We wouldn't want to let potential employers know her hair is like straw." Leo joked.

"Or that she plans on stealing their puppies." Jemma added.

"And so it's decided." Leo smiled, filing away the final chosen photo.

"…Oh no, I'd forgotten about my tea!" Jemma exclaimed, picking up her mug and sighing as she felt it was now cold.

"Oh, bloody hell. Me too." Leo groaned.

"I hate wasting tea; it's the worst." Jemma shook her head.

"I know; I feel like I should be punished…should we just down it in one?" Leo suggested with a smirk, one which Jemma reflected on her face.

"I will if you will." She smiled. The two picked up their mugs.

"On three. One…two…three!" Leo said and they both drank their cold tea in one gulp, laughing as they placed the empty mugs back on the desk.

"That was horrible."

"The absolute worst."

Silence for a moment.

"Well, uh…thanks for helping me with that." Leo smiled.

"The pleasure was all mine." Jemma smiled in return.

"Can I…can I ask you something?" Leo wondered.

"Yes, of course."

"…Melinda doesn't have a son, does she?"

"…Uh…no. She doesn't."

"So why did she make an excuse to leave?" Leo asked.

"…I…I don't know. She's a woman of mystery." Jemma replied.

Silence.

"Well, I, uh…I won't trouble you any longer." Leo said, standing up. Jemma nodded and collected up the mugs to hide her disappointment.

"Well…congratulations again, on the wonderful photos." Jemma smiled.

"Oh, thank you."

Silence again.

"Look, I…I'm not normally very good at talking to people about…well, anything really. But it was really easy to talk to you and I had fun today, so…thanks for that." Leo admitted shyly.

"Right back at you." Jemma blushed.

The two headed out of Melinda's office and back over to Jemma's desk.

"Do you need help clearing up the photos we're not using?" Leo asked.

"Oh, no. That's very kind, but I'm sure I can manage that." Jemma said, desperately trying to think of another logical excuse to get Leo to stick around but coming up blank.

"Okay…" He nodded as he picked up all of his things.

"…Right, well…Melinda will get in touch with you, I'm sure." Jemma smiled.

"Great. Good. Okay. Yeah, um…yeah."

"Do you need me to call you a taxi or…?"

"No, no, I can get the tube. Thanks." Leo smiled gently.

"Okay." Jemma nodded.

Silence once again.

"…Well then, I'll get off. Thanks again." Leo smiled.

"Thank _you_." Jemma said.

"Bye then."

"Goodbye."

With that, Leo gave a small, sad wave and walked out of the door, heading for the stairs. Jemma looked down at her desk sadly, deciding she should spend her lunch break taking her new dress back.

As Leo got to the steps heading towards the ground floor, his thoughts were still with Jemma. He couldn't remember ever getting along with someone so naturally, and for all he knew he would never see her again.

That's when it hit him; he could quite easily never see her again. He couldn't have that. He couldn't leave seeing Jemma Simmons again to chance.

He ran all the way back up the flights of stairs and burst back into the room, making Jemma jump slightly.

"…Hi." Leo said, out of breath.

"Hi." Jemma said, bewildered yet over the moon to see Leo again.

"I…I bought this shirt this morning." Leo panted.

"…Oh. Really?"

"Yeah."

"Well…I really like it." Jemma said.

"I know. I-I mean, I k-knew you would. I don't know how, but I just knew. I just get that feeling when I talk to you." Leo admitted, scared he was about to faint over the pure stupidity he was displaying to such an attractive woman.

"…Really?" Jemma blushed.

"Yeah." Leo nodded.

Jemma smiled.

"…I bought this dress this morning." She admitted eventually.

The two shared a smile as Leo dropped his stuff and walked over to the desk.

"Do you want to have dinner sometime?"

"Yes please."

"…Great." Leo smiled. Jemma grinned back, picking up a business card from the desk and handing it to him.

"My number's on there." She blushed, unable to look him in the eye.

"…I will…I will be calling you. Probably the second I get downstairs." Leo said and Jemma laughed.

"That's perfectly alright with me." She smiled gleefully.

"Okay. Good. Um…we'll go somewhere…nice." Leo nodded.

"Somewhere nice sounds good." Jemma smiled.

"Maybe we could invite Little Miss Needs A Burger Or Ten?" Leo suggested jokingly and Jemma laughed.

"It's a date."

"Yeah. It is."

After a few more moments of staring, Leo waved and hurried out again, taking a quick final look at Jemma before leaving. Jemma watched him go with the widest grin possible on her face.

When Melinda walked through the door a while later, she received the biggest hug of her life.

…

Leo entered his apartment with the smile still plastered onto his face, dropping his stuff on the floor and sitting on the couch. He'd been on the phone to Jemma for most of the journey back and couldn't remember ever feeling as giddy as he did in that moment.

Steam filled the room as the bathroom door opened and Lance walked out with just a towel wrapped around his waist. He clocked Leo sitting there and looked puzzled.

"I've just walked out of a room full of hot water and steam and yet you've got the redder face." Lance commented.

"What are you doing on Saturday?" Leo asked.

"I dunno. Why do you care?" Lance wondered.

"I don't. It's just a nice segway into me telling you I've got a date on Saturday." Leo grinned happily.

Saying nothing, Lance walked over to Leo and stamped on his crotch. Leo groaned in pain, looking up at Lance with a mix of confusion and anger.

"What the hell was that for?!" Leo demanded.

"You really did ask her out – had to check you had the balls. Congrats, mate!"

"Fuck you!"

…

The second Jemma opened the apartment door Daisy appeared before her.

"Well…?" She prompted. Jemma smiled cutely.

"…OFFICE SEX?!" Daisy exclaimed.

"I've told you, you should go on at least one date before sex." Jemma said, walking by Daisy and into the living area, sitting on the couch.

"Yeah, I know." Daisy moaned as she closed the door.

"…It's lucky I've got one with him then." Jemma squealed excitedly. Daisy looked at her in shock before her expression turned to delight and she squealed alongside her.

"I'M OPENING THE WINE!"


	4. Chapter 4

Jemma couldn't concentrate on her work the following Saturday morning. She'd barely been able to concentrate ever since she and Leo organised their date, but with the main event only being a few hours away the nerves were really starting to kick in. All she had to do was go through a tiny bit of paperwork for Melinda and then she could finish early and spend the whole day getting ready.

After a few more signatures and a lot of sticking stamps onto letters, Jemma smiled at Melinda as she walked out of her office with her bag in hand.

"Right, I'll be heading out to the shoot. You okay to close up when you're done here?" Melinda asked.

"Of course. I won't be much longer anyway." Jemma nodded.

"Great, thanks Jemma. Good luck for tonight." Melinda smirked as she headed for the door.

"…What?" Jemma asked, surprised.

"Your date with Leo's tonight, right?" Melinda enquired.

"How…how did you…you watched us on the CCTV again, didn't you?" Jemma wondered.

"You really think I would leave you two alone and then not check to see if my plan worked? Please. Plus, you've been checking the time more today than I imagine you have in your entire lifetime so I had to assume tonight was the big night." Melinda explained.

"…Well, yes. It is tonight if you must know." Jemma said, blushing.

"…Nervous?"

"Terrified."

"He seems like a really nice guy from what I've seen, but I can guarantee he's probably even more nervous than you are. It'll be great, I'm sure of it. Let me know how it goes; I don't own any restaurants with CCTV to hack into." Melinda smirked.

"How do you know we're going to a restaurant? We might be watching a film or something." Jemma said.

"Because I know how traditional you are; you wouldn't accept anything less." Melinda smiled and waved as she walked out. Jemma was left with a huge grin on her face and she tried to focus and get her work done as quickly as possible.

…

"Do you think she'd prefer just a shirt or a tie as well?" Leo shouted from his bedroom as he inspected yet another potential outfit in the mirror.

"I don't know, do I? I've never even met Jenny." Lance sighed as he burst into the room, fed up of Leo's constant string of questions.

"Jemma." Leo corrected.

"Exactly; I don't know the bloody girl, you do. Just go with what you think." Lance said.

"I don't know what to think when it comes to her; she makes me all nervous and fuzzy." Leo smiled anxiously. Lance started opening Leo's drawers.

"What are you doing?" Leo asked.

"Looking for a bucket to throw up in. Man up and pick something, you're driving me nuts." Lance said sternly.

"Sorry…I just want it to go well." Leo said solemnly.

"Mate, I know you do. I want it to go well too, but let's be honest – if she's into you when you're soaked to the skin and didn't bring an umbrella she's still gonna be into you whether or not you wear a tie with your shirt." Lance stated calmly.

"…I…I guess. It's just…you know what I'm like with women. I'm useless." Leo sighed.

"Oh, you're worse than useless. But maybe this Jemma's useless at this too. You can be useless together. Ugh, now I'm making myself want to throw up in a bucket." Lance cringed.

"…I'm _really_ into her, Lance." Leo said nervously. Lance placed a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"It's gonna be fine. If all else fails, just get her drunk and trick her into having a good time." Lance sniggered and Leo chuckled.

"…Seriously, with a tie or without? She wants to be a model; she's gonna have an eye for detail." Leo debated.

"…Screw it, wear a tie. Show her you're serious. But be casual about it, wear one a similar colour to your shirt." Lance said.

"…I have a matching burgundy shirt and tie?" Leo thought.

"Go for that." Lance nodded, patting Leo on the back and heading out.

"Lance? When it comes down to it, you're a really good mate, you know that?" Leo said kindly. Lance opened some more of Leo's drawers and Leo sighed.

"…You're looking for a bucket again, aren't you?"

"Yep."

…

"Jemma, hurry up! I wanna see!" Daisy shouted towards Jemma's bedroom door early that evening, desperate to see what Jemma looked like after her hours of preparation. If there was anything Jemma excelled at, it was preparation.

Finally, Jemma opened her bedroom door and walked out in a stunning dark green cocktail dress and her hair elegantly styled in curls. She looked breath-taking to say the least.

"Woah, Jem. Even I'd do you." Daisy chuckled.

"Stop it!" Jemma disciplined.

"You look drop dead gorgeous. Even more so once I do your make-up." Daisy smiled.

"You really think so?"

"Definitely! I'll eat my legs if you're not a model one day." Daisy said, guiding Jemma over to the couch where she had lined up various make-up products to make Jemma shine even brighter.

As she subtly applied mascara and lipstick, Daisy could practically see Jemma shaking through nerves.

"Jem, you have nothing to be nervous about." Daisy said as she finished Jemma's makeover and started putting the make-up away.

"Don't I?"

"No. He's the one who asked _you_ out, remember? He should be the one, like, quaking in his boots." Daisy said.

"…I can't believe how nervous I am." Jemma chuckled through her fear.

"I know it's been a while since you dated, but you needed this. And you've spent all this week exclusively talking about this guy you've met twice so it might just shut you up for a bit." Daisy teased and Jemma laughed.

"He just…he just seems so lovely." Jemma smiled.

"I'm sure he is. Hopefully I'll be able to meet him one day. Remember, if you need me to get out of the apartment in case it goes _really_ well, drop me a text." Daisy said.

"I don't sleep with a guy on the first date, I've told you that."

"Well, maybe this guy is your soulmate and you should stop wasting time." Daisy chuckled. Jemma laughed with her and pulled her into a gentle hug.

"I really hope this goes well for you, Jem."

"…Me too."

…

"You really didn't need to give me a lift, but thanks." Leo said as Lance pulled his car next to the restaurant where Leo had arranged for his dinner with Jemma.

"No problem, I'm going to the pub anyway just in case you need the apartment later." Lance winked suggestively.

"On a first date? Really?" Leo wondered.

"Really. Happens to me most of the times." Lance shrugged.

"Believe me, I know. Or have you forgotten that little incident?" Leo reminded.

"You're still holding that against me? I promised you it wouldn't happen again, didn't I?" Lance said.

"Yeah, but it did. Twice." Leo sighed.

"…Oh. Yeah. Sorry about that. Still, I'm being a good mate now and dropping you off so you don't get sweaty on the journey here. I get points for that, right?" Lance asked.

"Sure." Leo smiled.

"I'll leave it in the carpark and walk to the pub in case you want to drop Jemma off yourself." Lance said and Leo nodded appreciatively. Lance patted him on the back supportively.

"Good luck, mate."

"Cheers." Leo smiled nervously before stepping out of the car and waving Lance off as he drove away. He's gotten there early to sit and wait at their table to guarantee that he wouldn't be standing when he first saw Jemma. That way he couldn't collapse at the sight of her inevitable beauty.

Exactly on the time they'd agreed upon, Jemma walked into the restaurant and towards a worker stood at the entrance.

"Hi, I have a reservation under the name of Fitz?" Jemma said. The worker nodded and led Jemma over to the table where Leo was waiting. It was positioned right next to a window with a wonderful view of a London street lit up like Christmas. Fairy lights were positioned right above the table, only adding to the fairytale feeling Jemma was getting (and adored).

She couldn't help but grin like a child when she saw him, looking more handsome than ever in a matching shirt and tie (which she thought was very stylish of him), giving a little wave as she made her way towards him.

The second he saw her time seemed to freeze for a moment. Either that or he was having a heart attack, which really wouldn't be the best start to a first date. She always looked beautiful, but in that gorgeous green dress it was as if she was the source of the word itself.

Caught up in the moment, he almost missed her wave at him but managed to wave back just before it was too out of place to do so, standing up as she finally reached him. They shared another smile and could hardly believe that they'd made it.

"Hi." Jemma greeted softly.

"Hi." Leo whispered back.

A moment, then they shuffled closer together and delicately hugged before sitting down.

"You, uh…you look beautiful." Leo blushed.

"Thank you. You look very handsome yourself. I love the shirt and tie combo." Jemma smiled and Leo resisted the urge to punch the air and sigh with relief.

A waiter quickly appeared at the table with a warm smile.

"Can I get you something to drink?" He asked.

Leo and Jemma shared another look and a shy smile. This was actually happening.

…

"I'll have a pint please, love." Lance smiled at the woman behind the bar, placing himself on a stool and tapping his fingers on the smooth wooden surface.

He couldn't believe that he was actually feeling nervous for Leo. He'd been on dates before and Lance couldn't have cared less whether or not they went well, but this time was different. There was something about the way Leo's face lit up when he talked about Jemma…this girl must be pretty special.

After receiving his drink and paying, he quickly downed half of the glass to try and ease his anxiety as quickly as possible; he wanted for forget that he actually had a caring nature, just for a little while. He had a reputation to uphold for being a sarcastic, heartless prick. He was proud of said reputation, too.

"Something on your mind?"

The new voice surprised Lance. He turned to his left and saw a woman stood next to him at the bar, having just arrived.

"My mum told me not to talk to strangers." Lance said.

"Oh no, a proper English guy. I bet you like your drink." The woman smirked.

"Everyone in their right mind should like their drink." Lance argued.

"…True. So, what's bothering you?" The woman asked.

"Make a habit of asking random people personal questions?" Lance asked playfully.

"I make a habit of showing concern for people, much like you are now. I was very close to breaking your fingers to stop you tapping them a minute ago." The woman teased. Lance smiled.

"You know I'm gonna do it on purpose now, don't you?"

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

"So what's an American gal like you doing in London? Is this one of the stops on your bus tour? I hope you have enough space on your phone for all the photos you'll take and upload on Facebook." Lance teased.

"Very funny, but no. I live and work here. Have done for two years." The woman revealed.

"And now it's all been finally made worth it by meeting me." Lance grinned.

"Your modesty is charming." The woman joked.

"If you wanna see my modesty we'd have to go back to yours." Lance flirted.

"If I wanted to see your modesty it would be because I'd have had at least three of those." The woman laughed, pointing at Lance's pint glass.

"Better get started then. Another pint for the lady when you're ready." Lance said to the woman behind the bar.

"Well, thank you very much." The woman smiled.

"I ordered for you, doesn't mean I'm paying for it." Lance joked.

"Now I have two reasons to break your fingers." The woman laughed and Lance laughed with her. With a smile, he held his hand out to her.

"Lance." He greeted. The woman smiled, shaking his hand.

"Bobbi."

…

"I can't believe I've never been here before, this is fantastic!" Jemma exclaimed, tucking into her food.

"I know, it's amazing. My roommate Lance told me about it." Leo said.

"Ah, the roommate who hates Doctor Who?" Jemma asked and Leo nodded with a chuckle.

"Aside from that devastating fact, he's a pretty good guy when you get used to him."

"My roommate, Daisy, she's exactly the same." Jemma smiled.

"Some days I want to kill him, but then I wouldn't be able to pay the rent. I barely can anyway." Leo chuckled.

"How long have you lived in London?" Jemma asked.

"Just shy of three years. Came here straight for Scotland. There was more of an opportunity for photography work here." Leo replied.

"I've only been to Scotland once, but I'd love to go back. I was only little, but I still remember this cottage we drove by so clearly. It was in Perthshire, I think." Jemma recalled.

"I do miss it from time to time. I go back every three or four months, mostly for my mum's sake." Leo said.

"I miss England quite a bit sometimes, but when the chance to work for Melinda came up I had to take it." Jemma said.

"Oh, so you haven't lived here very long then?" Leo asked.

"No, just under two months. Daisy had moved to England to go to university, and then moved here from there. We stayed in touch and when this came about she said I could move in with her since she had the spare room. She works in IT designing software so makes loads; she said she'd pay the rent herself but I couldn't ask her to do that so I pay my half." Jemma explained.

"You two must be pretty close then." Leo observed.

"Oh yeah, I love her to pieces. Is it the same with you and Lance?"

"He drives me up the bloody wall, but my life would be duller without him." Leo said and Jemma laughed.

"How did you two meet?"

"We worked together for a bit. When I first moved here I had a cheap little flat on the outskirts of the city. I couldn't risk not being able to pay the bills by securing enough photography jobs so did some part-time behind the bar work at a nightclub. We often did shifts together and just got to know each other from there. I happened to mention how much I was struggling and he offered me his spare room. That was just over two years ago. He still works there now but I focused solely on photography a year ago." Leo explained.

"That's quite sweet of him, really." Jemma noted.

"Yeah, I guess. He doesn't like to admit that he cares, that's all."

"The woman must love him." Jemma laughed.

"You'd be surprised. He bought a woman home one time and didn't realise I was in. They…you know…and that was awkward enough as it was since it was rather loud. It was only made worse by the fact that I was on Skype with my mum at the time." Leo said. Jemma burst out laughing (which Leo found ridiculously adorable).

"No way! That's awful!" She chuckled.

"Yep. He promised it wouldn't happen again."

"And did it?"

"Twice." Leo said and Jemma started laughing again.

"You poor thing."

"Yeah, Lance isn't my mum's favourite person." Leo smiled.

"What about your dad?" Jemma asked.

"Oh, uh…he walked out on us when I was ten." Leo admitted sadly.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry. I didn't realise, I -"

"-It's fine, don't worry. It's just…a bit of a sore spot, that's all." Leo said.

"Then that's the last we'll ever speak of it." Jemma smiled. Leo smiled back at her.

"…You really do look stunning." He said sincerely.

"Now you're just trying to make me blush." Jemma chuckled shyly.

"…I can't tell you how nervous I was about this." Leo admitted.

"I was too! I thought I was being silly." Jemma said, relieved.

"I was just…I was worried it wouldn't go well." Leo said.

"Well you don't need to worry about that." Jemma smiled, placing her hand on Leo's. He gently caressed it as they share yet another smile.

"How is it _so_ easy to talk to you?" Leo wondered.

"I can't explain it either." Jemma grinned.

"I'm just…I'm not great at this sort of thing." Leo said.

"You could've fooled me." Jemma said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. It's, uh…well, it's been a while since I've been on a date with a guy and…well, it's just so nice to do it with someone I feel so safe with. So…thank you." Jemma smiled.

"Thank you for saying yes. That would be been so awkward." Leo sighed and Jemma laughed again.

After a delicious dessert, Leo and Jemma walked out of the restaurant and down the street towards the carpark. Neither could remember exactly when they'd joined hands, or whose hand found the other's first, but neither of them cared either.

"You didn't need to pay the whole bill. That place was so expensive." Jemma said.

"It was worth it." Leo smiled and Jemma smiled back.

Sweet silence for a moment.

"I, uh…I can give you a lift back if you'd like? I wouldn't want you to go home alone in the dark." Leo suggested.

"…Okay. Thank you." Jemma grinned, happy to get to spend just that little bit more time in Leo's company.

Jemma smiled the whole journey back, barely able to take her eyes off of Leo as he nodded along to the radio. Leo smiled to himself the second he heard Jemma start humming along to the music.

Eventually, Jemma successfully directed Leo to her apartment building, and he insisted upon walking her up to her door. When they reached it, reluctance filled the air.

"Thanks for walking me up." Jemma smiled.

"My pleasure." Leo smiled back.

Silence.

"I, uh…I had a wonderful time." Jemma grinned.

"Me too." Leo nodded.

"…Good."

"…Well, I, um…I'll call you." Leo said and Jemma smiled again.

"Great. Turns out I can put up with you." She chuckled and he laughed with her.

Silence again.

"Well, um…I'll see you soon." Leo said.

"Absolutely. I'm sure Melinda will contact you again when the photos we chose go live on the website." Jemma explained.

"Okay, good."

"…Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

After a few moments, Jemma leaned in to kiss him but changed her mind and kissed his cheek instead, instantly hating herself for it. She turned away and opened her apartment door, smiling and waving at Leo before closing it and resting her head against it with a frustrated sigh.

Leo slowly walked down the corridor and towards the stairs, delighted with how the night had gone. He wasn't sure whether or not he should've kissed her, but he knew he wanted to. He knew he would probably live to regret not going through with it. After all, he nearly didn't ask her out at all and that turned out incredibly well.

He stopped in his tracks, turned around and marched for Jemma's door. He knocked on it with purpose and soon enough was met with a confused Jemma looking at him.

"Leo? Is everyth-?"

Her question was cut short by the wonderful feeling of Leo's arm wrapping around her and pulling her close, and her question completely left her mind the second he pressed his lips against hers.

It was everything either of them had dreamt of and then some. She let out a slight moan as she wrapped her arms around his neck while he backed her against the wall next to the open door. Eventually, she let his tongue explore her mouth as she did the same in his. She was numb to everything except the taste of his mouth and the feeling of his warm hands on her waist sending shivers up her spine. He could hardly believe this kiss was really happening because it felt just so _perfect_. So _right_.

Only when air became a necessity did their lips part. Their faces remained barely a centimetre apart as they stared into each other's eyes and smiled.

"Wow." She whispered.

"Yeah." Leo smiled.

She grabbed his tie, pulled him close and kissed him again.

…

Leo was pretty certain he'd never be able to wipe the grin off of his face as he approached his apartment door. If kissing Jemma felt _that_ good, he could only begin to imagine everything else that was (hopefully) to come.

Boy, was he bloody glad she happened to find his blog a month ago. He felt as if nothing could bring him down from what was without a doubt the best moment in the best night of his life.

He stopped dead at the sound of something falling over from inside the apartment. Cautiously, he opened the door but saw no one in sight. Then he heard the all too familiar noises coming from Lance's bedroom.

At least he wasn't on Skype with his mum this time.


	5. Chapter 5

Leo couldn't sleep for all the right reasons and all the wrong ones.

On the positive side, being unable to sleep because he was constantly thinking about Jemma, how well their date went and the best kiss of his life was hardly a waste of his time, and he imagined he would be thinking about her and that night for a very long time to come. On the negative side, when he did get extremely tired he'd jolt back awake at the sound of Lance humping some poor soul in the next room (though he had to applaud their stamina to _still_ be going strong).

Leo sighed as he recalled everything Lance had said to him when he dropped him off. As promised, he'd left the car to allow Leo to drive Jemma home himself, but all that proved was that Lance was prepared to make the effort to walk all the way home in order to keep Leo up all night. At least he was committed to _something_.

What if he had brought Jemma back for an innocent coffee or just to talk? Part of him almost wish he'd asked her after that kiss since there'd likely to have been much more of her lips to enjoy. Even so, bringing her back would've been embarrassing beyond belief.

Leo knew what would happen. In a few hours he would get up, have an awkward encounter with Lance's latest one-night stand and, finally, lecture Lance so he can ignore it again in another month or two.

By the time the morning came, Leo's vision for the morning ahead was quickly coming true. He got up absolutely exhausted after managing to finally get a few hours of sleep in and made breakfast for himself. During this, he could hear footsteps from Lance's room that were far too light-footed to be Lance himself. Leo sighed into his cup of tea as he waited for the awkwardness to begin.

The moment she opened the door, a different kind of awkwardness filled the room. Leo's eyes bulged out of his skull as a tall, beautiful woman looked at him in shame.

"Oh…good morning. You must be the roomie. I…hang on…it's _you_!" Bobbi said.

Leo couldn't form anything like a sentence. It was _her_. It was Little Miss Needs A Burger Or Ten, as Jemma had nicknamed her.

"…Yes, yes it is." Leo mumbled through a bite of toast.

"Leo the photographer, right? Small world, huh?" Bobbi asked, still rather embarrassed.

"Too bloody small." Leo whispered under his breath.

"I'm sorry; I don't normally do this kinda thing, I…we'd had a lot to drink, we didn't hear you come in." Bobbi recounted.

"Oh, you wouldn't have. The party had already started when I got home." Leo said bluntly.

"…Oh god, I'm sorry."

"Longest party ever, wasn't it?"

"…I'm really embarrassed about this. This isn't like me at all, I promise. We just got talking and -"

"- Ah, that's the error. Never let Lance Hunter talk for too long; if you do you he ends up deluding you into thinking his bullshit makes sense." Leo nodded.

"So _that's_ why the woman at the bar called him Hunter…makes sense. Look, I truly am sorry to have put you through this. I can only imagine what it must have…sounded like." Bobbi cringed.

"There's only so many times you can find cries of 'yee ha!' funny." Leo smirked.

"God, I'm sorry."

"Look, it's okay. It's your life, right? I only know you in your professional life and you are very professional, so I'm sure that this isn't common for you." Leo smiled.

"…Thank you for being so understanding. Though if you got back this late you must've had a good night yourself?" Bobbi wondered.

"…You could say that." Leo grinned.

"Well I guess that's something. I should probably go; he's still sound asleep." Bobbi said, gathering up the jacket and shoes that hadn't even made it into the bedroom itself the night before and putting them back on.

"Yeah, he won't be up for another few hours yet." Leo stated.

"…Okay. Well, if we ever work together again I hope we can forget about this." Bobbi said nervously.

"Believe me; I will do my utmost to forget what I heard. Hopefully at be at May's Modelling many more times." Leo smiled.

"I hope so; you were great to work with, and I adore the photo you chose to use for me. And I'm sorry…again." Bobbi smiled back as she headed for the door.

"Water under the bridge." Leo nodded. Bobbi gave a small wave as she opened the door and delicately closed it behind her on the way out.

Leo smiled as he took another sip of his tea, glad that the encounter wasn't quite as painful as he feared it would be; after all, he was going to have a lot of fun telling Lance that he knew the woman he'd just spent the night with.

After finishing his breakfast, he found himself fiddling with his phone, wondering if it was probably far too soon to phone Jemma and arrange a second date. At the time same, wouldn't it make him a jerk to kiss her the way he had the previous night and then ignore her even for a few hours?

He would be the first to admit he'd never found himself in a such a situation very often, and there was no way he could let Jemma Simmons go. He was too nervous he'd screw everything up and end things before they properly began.

After much deliberation, he decided to hold off for at least another hour and maybe ask Lance for advice (though if literally anyone else were around to go to for advice, he'd have gone to them). He put his phone down, moved over to the couch and watched some TV until he heard movement from Lance's bedroom.

He smiled as he lowered the volume on the TV and turned towards Lance's bedroom door as it slowly opened and Lance staggered out in nothing but his boxers and a headband wrapped over his eyes, leaving him flailing his arms about everywhere to move properly.

"Good morning." Leo smirked.

"Fuck off."

"Care to explain the headband?"

"Couldn't find the sunglasses." Lance groaned.

"You could have at least put some more clothes on. Unlike your lady friend that's something I don't want to see." Leo teased.

"If I move too much I'll throw up, putting on more clothes is not an option right now." Lance mumbled as he felt his way along a wall before stumbling across the room and eventually finding the couch and taking a seat.

"When did the couch get so uncomfortable?" Lance asked.

"When you sit on my lap, you bloody moron."

"…Ah. Sorry."

"…Thanks for staying out of the apartment till late, buddy old pal. It wasn't even midnight when I came back." Leo said.

"I know, I know…I'm sorry, mate. I wasn't thinking with my brain."

"You never do anyway."

"If I could see you I'd punch you right now."

"You kept me awake all bloody night too. Again." Leo moaned.

"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't plan on any of last night, I swear. That girl was just…well, she was hot as hell but even just talking to her was a laugh, you know?" Lance explained.

"Bobbi does seem like quite the character." Leo nodded with a smirk.

"…She told you her name? Wow, you two must've had a nice little chat before she left. She had gone, right?" Lance asked.

"Yeah, she's gone."

"Crap. I was kinda hoping…never mind. How'd you get her name out of her?" Lance wondered.

"Oh, you see it said 'Bobbi Morse' on her form when I took photographs of her the other day." Leo smiled. Lance ripped off the headband and looked straight at Leo, the hangover hilariously evident on his face.

"…Wait, you…? Oh, fuck me."

"She did indeed, yes. Many times, from what I quite literally heard."

"She works for that Melinda woman?" Lance asked.

"She does."

"…Small world." Lance sighed, his head in his hands.

"That's what she said." Leo nodded.

"Leo, that's not how that joke works."

"No, that's literally what she said."

"…Oh."

"So, you had fun with her then? Even if it kept me up all night?" Leo questioned.

"Yeah, she was great, even before the sex. Which was also great, by the way."

"I'd guessed that much from the cheering."

"We talked for ages before we even got back here, you know. I haven't done that with a woman before. We just understood each other's attitudes." Lance recalled.

"Well, isn't that just lovely and romantic. I still remember the one-night stand who you said one sentence to, and that was 'let's go back to your place'." Leo smiled, getting up and heading to the fridge to get a glass of milk and a glass of water for Lance.

"Yeah, and it worked though, didn't it? Wait, I'm being a prick…how did it go with Jemma?" Lance asked while Leo handed him the glass of water as he returned.

"It was incredible. The food was amazing, she looked absolutely stunning, we got along like a house on fire and when I dropped her off there may have been a bit of kissing." Leo grinned.

"Woah, kissing a woman on a first date. You better slow down, mate." Lance chuckled sarcastically.

"Best kiss of my life though. She even kissed _me_ one time, pulled my tie and everything."

With that, Lance stood up and headed for the bathroom.

"Need to throw up?" Leo smirked.

"Yep. The cheesiness of yours and Jemma's 'Nicholas Sparks' novel' first date is what did it." Lance stated.

"Joke's on you for knowing who Nicholas Sparks is." Leo retaliated with a smile. None of Lance's quips or jokes could take the happy feeling in his heart away.

…

"I can hardly put it into words. I can't even take the smile off my face." Jemma blushed over a cup of coffee with Daisy at the kitchen table the same morning.

"I can't tell you how glad I am, Jem. I know how much you wanted this to go well and I'm made up that it did. Look at you, doing all flirtatious things – wearing tight dresses, pulling guys in for kisses by their ties. It's all happening!" Daisy said happily. Jemma looked at her, puzzled.

"…How did you know I grabbed him by the tie?"

"…Uh, you told me, duh…" Daisy mumbled.

"…No I didn't. I specifically remember leaving it out of my retelling because of how cheesy it sounds." Jemma said sternly.

"…Okay, I was in my room when you got back and just as I went out to talk to you I _might_ have heard him come back to the door and I _may_ have snuck out of my room and had a peek." Daisy admitted.

"Daisy!"

"Well, the door was wide open! It's not like I made a scene, is it? He's cute, by the way, so well done. I mean, not my kinda cute but definitely _your_ kinda cute. He really went for that first kiss, too. Damn." Daisy explained.

"I'd appreciate you not repeating that ever again please." Jemma stated.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. And he said he'd call you?" Daisy asked and Jemma nodded in confirmation.

"Great! I bet he's debating with himself whether or not to do it right now or wait a day or so." Daisy added.

"As long as he _does_ call, I don't mind." Jemma smiled.

"Oh, he will. I'd bet my floppy disk collection he will. His laps practically absorbed your face." Daisy said.

"He's an excellent kisser, I'll have you know!" Jemma protested.

"I know he is; your face was redder than his shirt by the time you finally stopped sucking on his face." Daisy teased.

"…I'm really excited about this, Daisy." Jemma admitted with a genuine smile. Daisy squeezed her hand and smiled back.

"You have every reason to be."

…

"I still can't believe I had sex with a proper model. An actual model! How great is that? She had the sense of humour to go with her looks, too. Do you think you could get her number from Melinda May for me?" Lance asked a half later as he watched Leo pace the room from the comfort of the couch. Leo was too focused on staring at the phone in his hand to listen to him.

"Leo? Oi! Are you listening?" Lance added, finally getting Leo's attention.

"What? Sorry…"

"Mate, if you had the guts to go back to her apartment and snog her face off, you can pick up the phone and call her." Lance

"But is it too soon?" Leo asked.

"I don't know! It happened last night, it's been hours - just do it! I've never found myself in a situation where I needed to call a girl. If you pace the room for a single second more I will slap you." Lance said and Leo stopped, staring at the phone once again.

"…I don't want to mess up, that's all!" Leo exclaimed.

"Mate, you met this girl and asked her out the very next day and she was delighted! You both got dressed up for when you met for the second time despite only meeting the day before! It doesn't matter when you call her, she's clearly – and oddly – attracted to you. Just text her if that's easier." Lance suggested.

"I said I'd call her, not text her. I have to be true to my word. Relationships are built on trust." Leo said.

"Oh god, now you're sounding like a family drama on ABC. Just call her for goodness sake." Lance sighed.

Leo stared at his phone again. It was a big risk no matter when he called her; he'd never been good at talking to people.

Then he remembered how easy it had been to talk to Jemma, and how the last two times he'd taken a risk it had paid off massively. Maybe taking a risk with Jemma was never a risk at all. Maybe it was just fate.

He dialled the number and rushed into his room with a big thumbs up from Lance.

"Hello?" Jemma answered almost immediately.

"…Hey, it's, uh…it's me. Leo."

"…Hey." Jemma said, grinning from ear to ear (not that Leo knew that).

"Sorry, I…I didn't know when to call or anything. I never do." Leo sighed.

"No, it's fine. I'm just glad you did. I, uh…if I'm honest, I can't stop thinking about last night." Jemma revealed.

"…Really? Me too!" Leo said happily.

"…So, I take it you called for…for a reason?" Jemma promoted with a smirk on her face.

"Yeah…I was just wondering if you'd had an accident at work lately that wasn't your fault." Leo smiled as he heard Jemma's chuckles through the phone.

"Actually yes, this idiot came into my office without an umbrella the other day and got the floor all wet. It was a hazardous day to say the least." Jemma giggled and Leo grinned.

"Sounds like a right prick." Leo said.

"…No, he's actually a very nice guy who…who I'd like to get to know even better."

"…In that case, I'm sure I could arrange something with that very nice guy. Maybe you could go out with him tomorrow night? A, uh…a second date kind of thing?" Leo suggested.

"…I'd like that a lot." Jemma said, squealing inside.

"Well…good. Um…well, I will – I mean, _the very nice guy_ – will pick you up from yours at seven?"

"It's a date. I look forward to seeing the very nice guy again."

"I'm sure he's very much excited to see you too."

"Good to know. Well, uh…I'll see you tomorrow." Jemma grinned.

"See you tomorrow." Leo smiled.

Lance smiled at the happy expression on Leo's face as he walked out of his room.

"I take it that it wasn't disastrous then?" Lance asked.

"Far from it. We're going out tomorrow night." Leo smiled.

"Wow, there's no stopping you two."

"I certainly hope there isn't."

"…So, about getting Bobbi's number from Melinda…" Lance began.

"I'll see what I can do." Leo said. Lance smiled.

"You're the best."

"Yeah, I am. Now, it's been hours – please put some clothes on."

"But the breeze is lovely!"

…

"Guess who has a second date tomorrow!" Jemma yelled at Daisy the second she hung up the phone. Daisy jumped up and down with excitement.

"I'M OPENING THE WINE!" She exclaimed.

"We drank all the wine when we arranged the first date!" Jemma said.

"…TO THE LIQUOR STORE!"

…

Melinda was sat in her house reading when a text came through on her phone.

' _I know you gave me your number for business only, but I just arranged a second date with Leo and I know I have you to thank. See you tomorrow x –Jemma'_

Melinda read the text, put down her phone and returned to her book.

She only managed to read a few words before the smile crept onto her face.


	6. Chapter 6

The second Jemma walked into work with a spring in her step the next day, Melinda walked out of her office and smirked.

"Good morning, Jemma." She said knowingly.

"Good morning, Melinda." Jemma grinned as she sat down at her desk and unpacked her things from her bag. Melinda took a few more steps closer to the desk.

"You're very early today, even for you." Melinda noted.

"Yes, I am."

"It's almost as if you woke up on the right side of the bed this morning? It's almost as if you're loving life right now?" Melinda teased.

"Stop it!" Jemma chuckled.

"What?"

"You're trying to embarrass me."

"Sweetie, I'm not trying, I'm succeeding. Your face looks like you put your head in a microwave for a few minutes." Melinda smiled.

"…Maybe it's the air conditioning playing up."

"Maybe. But it's not. Whenever I'm feeling low, all I need to do is take out my phone and look at the text you sent yesterday. Little Miss I Have A Second Date With Braveheart." Melinda grinned, relishing the moment.

"This is what I get for being nice and keeping you in the know?" Jemma asked, blushing from ear to ear.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. When's date number two?" Melinda asked.

"Tonight." Jemma replied.

"Wow, someone's keen."

"I hope so."

"Where are you two lovebirds going?" Melinda wondered.

"I…I don't know. He's picking me up so I'm sure he has something planned." Jemma admitted excitedly.

…

"I have nothing planned. This is going to be a disaster." Leo sighed as he continued pacing across the room in front of Lance, who was sat on the couch watching his roommate walk back and forth.

"Mate, you've got to stop this whole pacing thing. It's not good for your mental health. Plus, it's bloody annoying." Lance groaned.

"This is serious, Lance! Why…why did I have to suggest we go out tonight? I've had no time to plan this out! _I_ arranged the date, _I'm_ the one picking her up, _I_ have to come up with something for us to do that tops last time." Leo recalled.

"I know, you've told me this about thirty times since last night." Lance grumbled.

"You could offer some ideas and be helpful, you know!"

"Take her to a movie."

"…It has to be better than that!"

"It doesn't _have_ to be, you just _want_ it to be."

"Now is not the time to be a smartass." Leo said, panicking.

"Mate, we've been over this. You panicked over asking her out when you didn't need to. You panicked over asking her out again when you didn't need to. She just wants to spend time with you; she won't care what it is you do." Lance said.

"Well _I_ care, okay? She's not just a random girl I met on the street or at a club; she had an interest in my work and then an interest in me as a person. How rare is that; meeting someone who is just as interested in you professionally as they are personally? She deserves the absolute best I can give her." Leo stated.

"Well isn't that all very vomit-inducing. Look bud, you need to take a deep breath and realise that however well or however badly tonight goes the world's gonna keep on turning." Lance said. Leo stopped pacing and smiled.

"…Keep on turning…Lance Hunter, you're a genius." Leo said excitedly, rushing across the room gathering some things together.

"Thanks and all, but I'm not sure I follow your train of thought." Lance admitted.

"I need to go shopping, and I need you to call that guy you told me about, the one who worked at the club but left just before we met." Leo said.

"Mack? Why?" Lance asked.

"If I recall correctly, he left the club to work somewhere particularly exciting, right?"

"Only exciting for you because you like all that engineering crap. But I still don't get why…hang on, no way. I know what you're thinking and there's no way that'll happen." Lance said.

"Come on, just phone him and give it a try! Please! For me!"

"That's one hell of a favour anyway, but with short notice like this? Borderline ridiculous. Plus, I haven't spoken to the guy in yonks." Lance protested.

"Phone him and ask and I'll get Bobbi's phone number for you. Guaranteed." Leo stated.

"You said you'd do that anyway!"

"I was just gonna pretend I'd asked Jemma and she said no, but do this and I promise I won't rest until I get it."

"…You bastard. Fine." Lance agreed reluctantly.

"You're the best!" Leo grinned as he opened the apartment door and rushed out.

"Yeah, yeah, piss off."

…

The evening soon rolled around, and Daisy had made herself scarce just before Leo arrived at Jemma's apartment and knocked on the door. The second Jemma opened it and met Leo's eyes with hers the two shared a smile that refused to leave either of their faces.

"Hi." Jemma blushed.

"Hi." Leo grinned.

"Right on time."

"I take pride in being so. I, uh…these are for you." Leo said shyly, handing Jemma a bouquet of roses. Her smile grew even wider.

"They're beautiful, thank you." She said.

"Ready to go?" Leo asked, offering her his arm. She took it and the two set off down the stairs of the building.

"So, when do I found out where we're going?" Jemma asked.

"When we get there." Leo teased.

…

After a short drive into the city, Leo pulled into a carpark, opened the door for Jemma to get out and led her towards the right location, hand-in-hand.

"It's not too far from here." Leo said excitedly.

"These must've been so expensive." Jemma said as she observed the roses she held in one hand.

"No, no, I nicked them from this old woman in town earlier." Leo joked and Jemma chuckled.

"Well, they really are very nice."

"…You look beautiful, by the way. I keep forgetting to tell you that, but that's mostly because it's a given that you'd look beautiful no matter what." Leo said, blushing as he reached the end of the sentence and looked over Jemma's short white dress for the millionth time.

"Thank you. You look very handsome too." Jemma smiled sweetly, appreciating the delicate work that must have gone into producing Leo's black suit and thin navy tie.

"Why thank you." Leo chuckled.

After a little more walking towards the city centre, Jemma took a moment to look around. London at night was always an incredibly beautiful and inspiring sight. Every single building was lit up majestically, almost like it was scenery belonging to a fairytale.

Directly ahead of her was the London Eye, the huge wheel of pods that visitors could go into during the day and see the city from above. She'd been on it twice in her life, and was always taken back by how beautiful everything looked from so high up. In the night-time, each individual pod was lit up, making the Eye look even more impressive than during the day.

"Look at that, how beautiful does that look? I've never really thought about what it looks like at night before. It's quite majestic, really." Jemma said, pointing the Eye out to Leo.

"What, the London Eye?" He asked.

"Yeah. It looks amazing, doesn't it?" Jemma asked.

"Yeah. Lucky we're having dinner there then, really." Leo smirked. Jemma looked at him in shock and in delight.

"We're…we're what?!"

"Lance knows a guy who works for the people who keep it working. Lovely guy, apparently. He made the calls he had to, didn't tell a few people who might have said no, and got us permission to have dinner in one of the pods. He says we can have two cycles around the Eye, so that gives us about an hour. It all worked out rather well, if I do say so myself." Leo explained.

"…You're serious?" Jemma grinned.

"Of course I am. I mean…if you want to." Leo said nervously. Jemma chuckled and instinctively kissed Leo like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"This is amazing." Jemma smiled.

"Don't say that just yet, the bloody thing might break down." Leo grinned and Jemma laughed.

"I did wonder why you'd brought your camera." Jemma revealed, looking at the small camera bag Leo had over his shoulder.

"Thought it'd be a good way to capture the moment." Leo said cheekily.

The two reached the entrance of the Eye, where they were greeted by a tall, bald man built like a house. Leo shook his hand and introduced him to Jemma.

"Jemma, this is Mack." Leo announced.

"Thank you so much for this." Jemma said meaningfully as she shook Mack's hand.

"Hey, a friend of a friend of Lance's is a friend of mine. You two have fun, and just remember I have CCTV down here." Mack chuckled as Leo blushed.

Leo helped Jemma into the pod, and she smiled again as she saw a blanket had been placed in the middle of it with a wine bottle and a selection of beautiful looking food on top. A row of candles had also been laid out next to the blanket.

"The candles are just LED lights, but I thought they still looked romantic. Health and safety and all that." Leo admitted.

"It's perfect." Jemma said, stepping into the pod with Leo behind her. Mack shut the door behind them and secured it. As the two settled down on the blanket and opened the bottle of wine, the Eye slowly began to begin its ascent to the London sky.

"…Leo, I…" Jemma began.

"Now would be a terrible time to admit you're scared of heights." Leo teased and Jemma laughed.

"No, no, I…I just…I can't believe you did all of this." Jemma smiled.

"I don't think there is much I wouldn't do for you, if I'm honest." Leo admitted nervously. Jemma gently placed the bouquet of roses to the side and took Leo's hand in hers.

"This is already the best date ever, and I didn't think we could top the first one."

"Really?" Leo asked.

"Really. Who else could ever have arranged this?" Jemma said, amazed by the sights the glass walls of the pod were allowing her to see.

"I suppose I have to give Lance a lot of the credit this time." Leo said.

"I hope I can thank him in person one day." Jemma said.

"…Uh, if you really wanted to thank him, I…I kind of promised him something." Leo admitted.

"…Oh, okay. What is it?"

"When I got home from our date, it turns out Lance had brought someone back." Leo began.

"Oh no, not again." Jemma said.

"Yeah, and uh…well, you'll never guess who it was."

"Who?"

"Little Miss Needs A Burger Or Ten." Leo revealed. Jemma's jaw dropped.

"You're joking?!"

"If only I were." Leo chuckled.

"What a small world!" Jemma laughed.

"…Anyway, he seems pretty into her and I promised him I'd get her number and since she works for Melinda May…"

"…Her contact details will be on file in my system." Jemma finished, nodding understandingly.

"I know it's really cheeky and I shouldn't have promised anything, but -"

"I'll get the number, don't worry. I think he's earned it. The details aren't confidential anyway; otherwise we'd never be able to advertise to potential clients." Jemma said.

"Bobbi seemed interested in him too, so maybe it'll be a good thing for all concerned?" Leo suggested.

"Fingers crossed." Jemma smiled, pouring herself and Leo a glass of wine. They tapped their glasses together and started tucking into the food. After they couldn't eat another bite, they still had two thirds of a cycle left to go, leaving them plenty of time to take in the views on offer. Leo started snapping photographs of London at night while Jemma looked out in awe, relishing how small the people and places looked from so high up.

"Smile!" Leo shouted. Jemma turned to him and pulled a silly face as he snapped a photo of her. Observing it on his camera, he chuckled as he showed her and they laughed together.

"Somehow still better than most photos I've ever taken." Leo grinned.

"You just witnessed the future of modelling right there." Jemma laughed.

"You will get there, you know. You're so natural even with the camera on you. That and the fact that you're stunning makes a great combination." Leo said and Jemma blushed. She could see the sincerity in his face, touching her immensely.

"…You _really_ mean that, don't you?" She asked, welling up.

"Of course I do." Leo stated.

Jemma walked up to Leo and kissed him passionately, wrapping her arms around his neck as he held her as close as was physically possible. After plenty more kissing, they rested their foreheads together and grinned.

"I could get very used to that." Leo whispered.

"Me too." Jemma whispered back before Leo kissed her again.

"It's kinda creeping me out knowing Mack might be watching this." Leo admitted.

"I thought it was just me!" Jemma grinned and the two laughed together.

After a few more photos and aughed together.

watching this."loklbeing inspired by London at night, the pod reached the ground once again. Mack let Leo and Jemma out, with Leo giving Mack the leftover wine and food as a thank you. Taking the blanket it one hand and Jemma's hand in the other, Leo and Jemma headed back to the car and drove back to Jemma's apartment.

Just the same as the previous date, Leo walked Jemma up to her door. This time, however, there was no hesitation when it came to kissing her or not. As his lips met hers for the sixth time that evening, he decided that he would never get enough of the way he felt in that moment. Jemma had the exact same thought.

"…Stay." Jemma said softly, taking Leo's hand.

"…Stay?"

"…Daisy promised to stay out. You, uh…you could stay…if you wanted to?" Jemma suggested. Leo's heart was coming close to breaking his ribcage into a million tiny shards.

"Well, I, uh…I wouldn't want you to feel like you have to -"

"-Leo…I'm asking you to stay. I want you to stay." Jemma smiled.

"We don't have to, you know, we don't have to _do_ anything. I mean we could just -"

Leo was cut off by Jemma's lips meeting his again, only briefly but still as incredibly as every previous time. Blushing, she turned away and opened her door, taking Leo's hand and guiding him in.

"…Wow. How rich _are_ you?" Leo asked, amazed by how incredible Jemma's apartment looked.

"Not very, compared to Daisy. She's the one who can afford all of this." Jemma explained as she closed the apartment door and looked around at all the expensive electrical devices and furniture.

"Wow. I mean…wow." Leo nodded to himself.

Suddenly, a silence filled the room and Leo and Jemma looked at each other awkwardly.

"So…"

"…Yeah."

Silence again.

"…L-Look, Jemma…I think you're so amazing and wonderful but we really don't have to…whatever." Leo said nervously.

"Leo, I know." Jemma chuckled lightly at Leo's adorableness.

"I mean, I…it's not that I don't want to. I mean, I do. Believe, the mind wanders and I've pictured…you know what, I'll stop talking." Leo said and Jemma laughed briefly.

"Yeah…we should both stop talking." Jemma said suggestively, taking a step closer to Leo and linking her fingers into his, looking up at him with a sweet smile.

"…And just do?" Leo whispered.

"And just do." Jemma agreed.

Their lips met more passionately than they ever had before. Jemma deepened the kiss as Leo picked her up and backed her up against a wall, kissing her neck as she grabbed his hair with a slight, satisfied moan. Jemma grabbed the lapels of Leo's jacket and pulled it off of him, discarding it to the floor and pulling his shirt out of his trousers. Her hands moved slowly up and down his chest as she loosened his tie and pulled it over his head before beginning to undo his shirt buttons.

She counted each one as she undid them, trying to find a balance between being sexy and being gentle – it looked like an expensive shirt and she didn't want to break it by pulling a button off.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

Suddenly, there came a loud bang as the door burst open and Daisy stumbled in, falling to the floor as she laughed to herself. Leo and Jemma jumped out of their skin as Leo rushed to do his shirt buttons back up.

"DAISY!" Jemma exclaimed, infuriated.

"Jemma! How's it hanging?" Daisy giggled, clearly having had too much alcohol. She quickly noticed a shell-shocked Leo staring at her.

"IT'S YOU! IT'S FITZY FITZ! Did you not wear a jacket on your date? Or a tie? Not even a tie?! WOW. Well there's a jacket and a tie on the floor you can borrow, spruce yourself up a bit for…oh." Daisy said, eyes widening with realisation before she started giggling again.

"Why are you back so early? You promised you'd stay out!" Jemma shouted.

"Calm down, Jem! It's 3AM for god's sake!" Daisy stated, looking at her watch and checking the hands on it.

"Daisy, it's 9PM! It's only been a few hours!" Jemma said, furious.

"…Oh, you know what? I've put my watch on upside down!" Daisy said before bursting into a fit of laughter again.

Jemma looked at Leo, and he looked back at her, silently acknowledging that their plans for the evening had probably changed.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, Jemma had gotten up, gotten ready for work and left the apartment earlier than she ever had before. She didn't want to risk coming into contact with Daisy after the previous night's events in case she said things she'd later regret. Luckily, she had her own key to the building so opened the place up and got straight to work at her desk.

No matter how hard she tried to concentrate on her work to take her mind off of things, a sudden surge of anger or embarrassment (or both) would appear. She was furious with Daisy for ruining what was set to be an incredible night for her and utterly embarrassed by the whole thing. She wouldn't be surprised if Leo never contacted her again.

Oh, and now she'd thought about _him_ and her anger turned to sadness. After at least twenty apologises, Jemma practically pushed Leo out of her apartment and let him go home while she shouted at Daisy (a lecture that she'd definitely forget the following morning, if her alcohol intake was anything to go by). She felt awful; he's gone to so much trouble to create a perfect date for her – and it WAS perfect – and she threw it back in his face just before things were about to heat up.

Leo had been the first man she'd dated in about a year, and she'd hit the jackpot. He was everything she could ever want in a guy and as far as she was concerned, she'd blown it. She'd probably give him Bobbi's phone number for his roommate (was his name Lance? Who names their child after a spear?) but he'd just ask her out himself because she probably didn't have a ridiculous drunken friend.

Jemma sat up straight in her squeaky chair. Bobbi's number…she still had to get it for him! This was another chance to contact him and salvage everything! She didn't want to seem too pushy, so decided a simply email would suffice. If she trusted anything about herself, it was her writing ability. With an email, she could draft it again and again and prepare what to say before sending it – she excelled at preparation.

Since he'd worked with Melinda May's company before, so his email address was on file. She found it (along with Bobbi's phone number) and was soon met with a blank screen ready to fill with her message.

Jemma smiled to herself. This was going to be easy.

…

An hour and a half passed, and Melinda walked into the office to see Jemma staring blankly at the computer screen, barely moving anything at all. If she weren't blinking, Melinda would have thought she was dead.

"Jemma? How long have you been here?" Melinda inquired.

"…I'm not sure." Jemma replied softly.

"…Right…what're you working on?"

"An email. For Leo. I've been working on it for a while. I think." Jemma said with a sigh.

"Okay, what have you got so far?" Melinda asked.

"…'Hi Leo'." Jemma read.

"…That's it?" Melinda wondered.

"Can you beat me over the head with my stapler please? Multiple times?"

"…Did it…not go well last night?" Melinda questioned.

"It was incredible, until we got back to mine." Jemma sighed.

"Oh no…could he, you know…not get… _excited_?"

"What? NO! Not that! We were about to, _you know_ , and then in stumbles Daisy, too drunk to realise how early it still was and ruined everything. Leo went home and I've had this cloud of embarrassment over my head ever since." Jemma explained sadly.

"Your roommate?"

"Yes, my roommate."

"Oh Jemma, I'm sorry." Melinda said sincerely.

"So I've spent god knows how long attempting to formulate an email that sounds both professional but is also a desperate attempt to beg for forgiveness. I've had all the success of a boxer without hands." Jemma groaned.

"It doesn't sound like you have anything to apologise for. I think you're overthinking how big of a problem this is. You know, like you've done on every occasion surrounding this boy." Melinda stated.

Jemma's phone began vibrating as it lay on the desk to Jemma's right. She immediately pressed the reject button on the call and returned to looking at the screen.

"I take it that was Daisy trying to call you?" Melinda wondered.

"Yep. Fourth time in the last half an hour or so." Jemma said.

"She clearly wants to apologise."

"It's gonna take more than a phone call. I want to focus on my own apology right now. After that I'll start emailing clients, I promise." Jemma said.

"Jemma, it's not even working hours for another twenty five minutes yet. That's plenty of time to write one email, because this isn't as big of a deal as you think. Don't stress out about it. I'm in my office if you need me." Melinda smiled as she walked away and headed into the other room.

Jemma sighed once again, deleting the two words she'd written and leaning back in her chair, frustrated.

 _Okay, let's tackle this one step at a time. Just focus on the professional aspect for now. Don't make it too personal._

With that train of thought, Jemma quickly wrote a draft giving Leo the number for Bobbi and nothing else. At least it was _something_.

As she read through it again, another call from Daisy came through. Jemma rejected it yet again, reminded of the previous night's events that would probably haunt her forever. Why was she even bothering trying to salvage anything? She'd blown it; Daisy's antics combined with the way she'd practically kicked him out of the apartment had ruined everything.

Trying desperately to hold back the tears forming in the back of her eyes, she added only one more sentence to the email before sending it.

…

Leo sat on the couch with the warmth from his laptop starting to make his legs feel like they were burning, but he was too focused on his email inbox. He'd noticed Jemma's email a few minutes ago but had yet to open it. Honestly, he was dreading what it might say. He was scared she was ending things – he didn't know why she would, but he was still worried.

He knew the previous night could've gone much, _much_ better for him, but he still had an amazing date and he understood why Jemma wanted him to go after her roommate started throwing up on the floor. If it had been him in her shoes, he probably would have done the same. She'd apologised to him god knows how many times the previous night when she had nothing to be sorry for – what on Earth was this email going to be about?

"Just open the bloody thing!" Lance shouted as he stood behind the couch leaning over close to the screen. Leo jumped out of his skin and pushed Lance away.

"Don't do that!" Leo exclaimed.

"Do you want me to open it for you while you change your boxers?" Lance teased with a smirk.

"Piss off." Leo groaned, reluctantly opening the message and reading it to himself as Lance made a cup of tea for himself.

 _Leo,_

 _I always keep my promises; I've put Bobbi's phone number at the bottom of this email for your roommate._

 _Thanks, Jemma_

 _P.S. I'm really sorry about last night - that's not how I wanted things to end._

Leo's heart sunk as he read the last sentence and threw the laptop to his side. Not how she wanted things to end? Is it over, just like that? That bloody Daisy or whatever her name was…

"I'm not great at reading people, but you look like someone just shat in your cup of tea." Lance said.

"Shut up, Lance. You've got your bloody phone number, so enjoy!" Leo shouted angrily, gesturing towards the laptop. Lance took his tea and rushed over, reading the message.

"…Oh, mate. That doesn't sound promising."

"No, it doesn't. This is ridiculous!" Leo sighed.

"Based on what you told me about last night, I think she's taken it to heart more than she needed to." Lance stated.

"She wears her heart on her sleeve." Leo nodded.

"She wears her heart on her sleeve and gets too panicked about tiny little romantic problems? You two really are the perfect match, huh? She's had a wobble, so just tell her that." Lance said.

"…You think I should go and see her?"

"I didn't go through that bloody awkward phone call with Mack to get you the London bloody Eye yesterday just for it to go horribly wrong a few hours later." Lance moaned.

"…You're right. I'm gonna go and see her. Thanks, Lance." Leo nodded, standing up.

"Thanks for getting the number for me, mate." Lance smiled.

"No problem. You're a pretty good friend when you wanna be." Leo grinned.

"Thanks. Now, get changed before you go. You look like crap." Lance smirked.

…

Jemma watched on jealousy as Melinda chatted away to three models just in front of her desk. Her dream of being one of them, especially after the previous night, felt really far from her grasp. She was beginning to think the world was against her.

There was a loud crash as Leo ran through the doors with so much force that he landed flat onto the floor. Every woman in the room looked at him in shock and surprise, especially Jemma. Leo stood up quickly and adjusted his clothing to look presentable again.

"…Ladies." He choked eventually. Everyone continued to stare at him in silence.

"…You, um…you have very clean floors." Leo added.

"Thank you, Leo." Melinda said with a smirk.

"…Hi." Leo said, turning to Jemma.

"Hi." Jemma only just managed to force out of her mouth.

"I'll show you out, ladies." Melinda smiled, leading the three models to the lift and leaving Leo and Jemma alone.

"…Thanks for getting the number for me. Well, for Lance." Leo said.

"…N-No bother, really." Jemma said, forcing a smile.

Silence.

"You don't have an appointment to see Melinda." Jemma noted.

"…I know, yeah. I came to see you."

"Leo…"

"No, hang on. Can I just…? Why am I so bad at this?" Leo sighed.

"Bad at what?" Jemma asked.

"This. The whole romance thing."

"…Are you serious? Leo, you think you're bad at romance after what you arranged for us yesterday? You're probably the most romantic man on the planet. _I'm_ the one who screwed it up." Jemma sighed.

"No you didn't! Jemma, you didn't do anything wrong! Okay, the night could've ended…smoother…but that wasn't either of our faults! Your roommate got drunk, it isn't a big deal." Leo stated.

"It was humiliating for both of us, and I just shooed you out of the place. I took your lovely evening and threw it back at you." Jemma said sadly.

"That's just not true," Leo said, taking a step closer to Jemma, "if anything you did me a favour; I'm not good with sick."

Jemma laughed at that, giving him hope.

"Last night, it…it was still incredible. I had the time of my life with you. There'll be more chances and more dates where everything will run smoothly. At least I thought there would be. Maybe your roommate should work on pacing herself, but that's her problem, not ours. Jemma, I…I really, _really_ like you; like, a ridiculous amount. And yeah, you panic when there's a tiny little hiccup and think it's the end of the world, but so do I! It's just another thing we have in common. So can we just draw a line under it? In the grand scheme of things, what happened last night isn't going to matter. In a few years we'll barely remember it." Leo explained. Jemma, touched, walked out from behind the desk and stood in front of Leo.

"…I suppose I _may_ have overreacted slightly." Jemma smirked.

"It was both infuriating and adorable." Leo grinned and Jemma giggled.

"…I'm sorry."

"I told you, there's nothing to be sorry for."

Jemma took Leo's hand in hers and kissed him passionately.

"We're going to have to work very hard to top the London Eye next time, aren't we?" Jemma asked with a smile.

"…I'm sure we'll think of something." Leo smiled, kissing her again as Melinda walked back in.

"Oh, there we are. It _was_ a classic Jemma Simmons overreaction panic after all." Melinda smirked.

"…I can't wait to get used to it." Leo said and Jemma grinned.

"She's still apologising even now for forgetting to order some paperclips last month." Melinda chuckled to herself as she headed into her office.

"I _am_ sorry for that, by the way." Jemma said and Melinda laughed, turning back to face the pair.

"Hold on, let's save a meeting here; Leo, what are you doing next Thursday?" Melinda asked.

"…Nothing, why?"

"I've got a photoshoot and no photographer if you're up for it?"

"Oh, definitely! Thank you!" Leo grinned.

"Good. I'll get Jemma to email you the brief. I have a feeling she knows your email address." Melinda smirked at Jemma before closing her office door behind her. Jemma shook her head and chuckled.

"So, we're good?" Leo asked.

"We're very good." Jemma smiled.

The vibrating of Jemma's phone on the desk caught the attention of both of them. Jemma picked it up and, as she expected, saw Daisy was calling yet again. Jemma sighed.

"Just one more problem to solve, then."


	8. Chapter 8

Leo walked back into the apartment with a wide grin on his face. Lance turned to face him and smiled himself.

"Went well then?" He asked.

"All smoothed out. Plus, Melinda offered me another job next Thursday so it only got better." Leo recalled happily.

"Told you it would all work out." Lance said.

"Credit where credit's due, you did. So now that's dealt with...it's my turn, Lance Hunter." Leo smirked. Lance stared at him blankly.

"…Your turn to do what?"

"To watch on gleefully as my roommate awkwardly calls a girl and asks her out. It's about time I was on the other side. I can't wait." Leo laughed.

"I called her while you were out." Lance chuckled. Leo's face dropped.

"…WHAT?!"

"I feel like you understood what I said. It doesn't take me 25 years to ask someone out, you see."

"You're lying." Leo said.

"I'm not. See, I wrote down her address. We're going out this weekend. Look." Lance said, reaching for a piece of paper on the table and waving it in the air in front of Leo.

"Oh, bloody hell. You're no fun." Leo grumbled.

"We both know that's not true." Lance smirked.

Leo sighed as he sat down next to Lance on the couch, reading the address Lance had written down.

"Hang on…you wrote the address on top of the poem I've been working on!" Leo shouted angrily.

"I know; I _did_ read it to make sure it wasn't anything important. I can safely say I did the world a favour."

…

Jemma walked back into the apartment with a wide grin on her face. Almost instantly, Daisy appeared from out of her room and stood staring at her awkwardly.

"…I see you've tidied up a bit." Jemma noted.

"It was the least I could do. I've been calling you all day." Daisy said shyly.

"Yes; I've been ignoring you all day." Jemma retaliated.

"Jemma, I'm so sorry about last night. I didn't pace myself and I was unbelievably stupid and…I'm just so, so sorry." Daisy pleaded meaningfully.

"It was ridiculously embarrassing. Not just for me, but for Leo too. I couldn't get him out of here quick enough." Jemma said.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm a sucky, sucky friend. No one is more embarrassed about this than I am." Daisy sighed.

"Forgive me if I struggle to believe that." Jemma said as she sat down on the couch. Daisy rushed to sit down next to her.

"It's true! I've seen you interested in guys before, but with Leo it's been completely different. You're not just interested in him, you're _invested_ in him. Personally AND professionally. I've never had that with anyone, yet you'd found it and I was so happy for you – I still _am_ happy for you. Seeing how happy he's made you in such a short space of time…I was so excited to meet him. I made a complete fool of myself in front of him, and I'm so angry at myself for that." Daisy said sadly.

"You're lucky he came to work today and assured me everything's okay with us." Jemma said, unable to hide a slight smile. Daisy sighed with relief and grinned.

"Thank Christ for that. I really am so sorry, Jem." Daisy said, close to tears.

"…If you do all the washing up for the next week I might be able to forgive and forget." Jemma said eventually with a small smirk. Daisy smiled in return.

"Deal."

"Good. You should start with the million mugs you take into your room and never bring back out." Jemma grinned as she placed herself onto the couch, satisfied. Overhearing Daisy mumbling the words to "What I Did For Love" from A Chorus Line as she walked into her room added an extra layer to her satisfaction.

…

"Hi Melinda, just letting you know Jonah Willows has cancelled his appointment with you next Tuesday but wants to call you and explain why at your earliest convenience. Thanks."

Jemma finished leaving a voicemail message for Melinda and let out a yawn. It wasn't even nine thirty in the evening and yet she was more than ready for bed. Just as she got up to get changed into her pyjamas, her phone went off. She grinned widely when she saw Leo had sent her a message.

 _Fancy a late night stroll?_

She was tired beyond belief, but she'd power through to spend a bit of time with Leo Fitz.

 _I think I can squeeze one into my busy schedule…_

His reply came almost immediately.

 _Great, because I'm outside!_

Surprised, Jemma smiled as she hurried into her room, where her window looked out to a vast array of London skyscrapers and, below all of them, the carpark to her apartment building. Sure enough, she could see Leo sat on the bonnet of his car, waving when he noticed Jemma open her window and lean out slightly.

Jemma stretched out her palm to signal for Leo to give her five minutes to get ready, she managed to change her shirt, brush her hair and reapply some subtle make-up in record time before heading for the door.

"Where're you going?" Daisy asked from the entrance of her bedroom.

"Going for a walk with Leo. He's in the carpark waiting for me." Jemma smiled.

"You kids have fun. Use protection." Daisy teased.

"That was the plan yesterday, if you recall." Jemma teased in return, wiping the smirk clean off of Daisy's face as she opened the door and headed out.

…

The streets of London were unusually quiet, even for the time of day. Jemma took it as a positive sign; walking hand-in-hand with Leo wouldn't have been quite as romantic if they'd had to let go of each other every few seconds to make their way through crowds of people. Hell, she would believe it if Leo had paid every citizen of London to stay indoors to give them some privacy given his incredible date planning skills.

They'd been walking for a few minutes with no real idea of where they were going, yet they always managed to effortlessly head down the same pathway or street despite the numerous options constantly presenting themselves as the journey progressed. It was like they shared the same mind, at least in navigational terms. Leo almost brought the fact up to Jemma but knew that if he did they'd both probably try and go in separate directions at the very next crossing and make himself look like a fool. He did that enough as it was. He was struggling to balance listening to Jemma with adding his own input to the conversation and worrying if his hand was too sweaty but she was too polite to let go.

"So are you excited for next Thursday?" Jemma asked him. Leo panicked for a moment before remembering she was referring to the job Melinda May had offered to him.

"Yeah, it should be fun. It's much needed income at the end of the day." Leo smiled.

"Absolutely. I'll be sure to send you the brief tomorrow; it'll give you plenty of time to prepare and inevitably impress Melinda. She's terribly fond of you; she just doesn't like showing her emotions to people." Jemma explained.

"I had an inkling she liked me, otherwise she wouldn't have desperately worked so hard to get us to go on a date." Leo smirked and Jemma laughed.

"Very good point. I tried to tell her about my old boyfriends before and she couldn't have cared less. Then you come along and suddenly she's asking me more about my love life than my mother."

"My mum's just the same. She always used to urge me to find a girlfriend and when I did get one she never liked them." Leo reminisced.

"I can relate to that frustration." Jemma nodded understandingly.

"I think you'll be the first one she likes, though." Leo smiled.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"…So I'm your girlfriend then, am I?" Jemma wondered, stopping in her tracks. He stopped with her, panic spreading across his face.

"…Well, I…no, I just, well…uh…um…I was saying that…I mean…I…well, it's…I didn't want to assume…I mean…well…"

Leo's mumbling was cut short by Jemma giggling, dragging him down the street with her to get them walking again.

"You are so cute. I was just teasing." Jemma smiled.

"…You enjoy my suffering, don't you?" Leo asked with a smirk.

"There's something about you making an idiot of yourself that I can't get enough of." Jemma chuckled.

"You sound just like Lance. You two will get along just fine." Leo said.

"I look forward to meeting him." Jemma said.

"I imagine you meeting my roommate will go a bit better than me meeting yours." Leo cringed as the painful memories entered his head once more.

"I could backflip into your apartment and kick him square in the face and it would still be better than the monstrosity that was last night." Jemma laughed.

"At least you can laugh about it now. I won't be forgetting that anytime soon." Leo said.

"Neither will I, that's for sure." Jemma agreed.

"He asked Little Miss Needs A Burger Or Ten out, by the way. They're going out this weekend." Leo revealed.

"Oh, that's good! Did she wonder where he'd gotten her number from?"

"Not sure, Lance was too busy trying to prevent himself from squealing like an excited little girl to tell me too much. I might have to stay out of the apartment all weekend considering they didn't need to go on a date to…well, you know. I try not to think about the noises they were making. It sounded like they were playing The Sims." Leo said and Jemma laughed loudly.

"You can always stay over at mine if you need to get away. You know, I…I didn't mean so we could…you know, well…I just meant…"

Jemma's mumbling was cut short by Leo laughing.

"You're right; it _is_ funny when people do that." He teased. She playfully nudged his shoulder.

For the first time in a while, Leo and Jemma looked around them and slowly came to a stop.

"Jemma, can I be honest with you?"

"Yeah."

"I haven't a clue where we are."

"…Neither do I."

They look at each other and burst out laughing. Deeply invested in their conversation, they'd journey through street after street and despite having lived in London for some time, had come across somewhere they'd never been before.

"Shall I ring us a taxi before we're mugged?" Leo chuckled.

"That would be wise, I think." Jemma laughed as Leo got out his phone and rang for a taxi to take them back to Jemma's apartment building. It soon turned up thanks to Leo's incredibly accurate description of their surroundings, and it wasn't too long into the journey that Leo felt Jemma's head slowly roll onto his shoulder. He smiled as he watched her sound asleep for a few moments, wondering if she really knew how beautiful she actually was.

Eventually, the taxi pulled up in the carpark where Leo's car was waiting. Leo gently woke Jemma up and paid the driver, waving him off as the taxi drove away.

"I'm sorry about that; work's been draining me lately. How much for the taxi?" Jemma asked as she and Leo headed into the building and up towards Jemma's apartment.

"Don't worry about it, it wasn't that much. You can repay me by getting a good night's sleep." Leo joked.

"Yes, sir." Jemma chuckled.

"I like you calling me 'sir' more than I probably should." Leo smirked and Jemma laughed again as they reached her front door.

"I'll leave you to get some sleep, don't worry. I'm not sure Daisy's ready for our next meeting just yet." Leo added as Jemma opened the door and turned back to him.

"This was really nice. Thank you." Jemma smiled.

"The pleasure was all mine, as always." Leo said. Jemma grinned, taking a step forward and gently pressing her lips against his. They parted but Jemma stayed close to him, playing with one of the buttons on his shirt.

"You know…if we _were_ to say that I'm your girlfriend…I would be okay with that." Jemma said nervously. Leo grinned widely.

"Really?"

"You're not going to start mumbling nervously again are you?" Jemma smirked.

"It makes you smile, so I just might." Leo smiled and Jemma laughed.

"…I'm really glad you stumbled into my office." Jemma said sweetly.

"If I hadn't you wouldn't be my girlfriend, after all." Leo blushed.

"That's very true." Jemma smiled. Leo pulled her close and kissed her passionately. He gently rested his forehead onto hers and looked into her eyes.

"I'm on constant alert for signs that this is all a dream." Leo said.

"If you spot any, ignore the hell out of them." Jemma smiled, kissing him again.

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." Leo quoted.

"…Eleanor Roosevelt." Jemma recognised.

"I'm starting to get what she means." Leo smiled.

"I am too." Jemma said, closing the gap between their lips for the final time that evening.

Neither of them cared if it was all a dream so long as they never woke up.


	9. Chapter 9

Jemma was sat in the middle of the couch, legs crossed. Resting on her lap was her sketchbook. Inside the stack of well-used pages were doodle after doodle, landscape after landscape, all reflections of Jemma's mind drawn neatly onto paper in fine pencil. You knew which ones were her favourites as she went over them with a fineliner pen to really make them pop on the page.

Sketching was one of Jemma's favourite things to do; it inspired her brain to think creatively and it relaxed her no matter how stressed she got. It had been a while since she'd had the time to get it out and draw, but since the previous few hours had seen her have to shuffle twenty appointments around because some models didn't show up for photoshoots, she made time for it. The collection of sketches were always something that were _hers_ , a reflection of who she was. She found comfort in having something no one had tainted.

Suddenly, a second pad of paper landed on top of her sketchbook. This one was much scruffier, the pages were half the size and each page was ruled with grey lines. On the page visible to Jemma was Daisy's scruffy handwriting, a mess of blue ink (she preferred black ink personally) that took hours of intense studying to be able to decipher. Luckily, Jemma had already clocked in far too many days of her short life figuring out what Daisy's handwriting said so was able to read the page fairly quickly. She looked up and saw Daisy stood in front of her, smiling nervously.

"Forgive my confusion, but this reads an awful lot like a menu." Jemma noted.

"That's because it is a menu. Well, a menu in progress. It depends on what you think of it." Daisy said.

"Well, I'd say it's simple but elegant. Why does my opinion matter? What is this even for?" Jemma asked.

"Your opinion matters because it's for you. I want to cook for you tonight." Daisy announced. Jemma smiled, genuinely astonished.

"…What have you done now?"

"Nothing, I swear," Daisy protested, "I just want to cook for my best friend in the world. But that's not all."

"…What else?" Jemma wondered.

"I want to cook for you…and I want you to invite Leo over. I want to cook for the three of us." Daisy revealed.

"Why, because your last meeting went so well?" Jemma teased.

"It's because of our last meeting that I'm doing this! I want to make it up to you even more, and I want to make it up to him. Since you two are all official now, I definitely want to get to know him better; show him the real Daisy Johnson."

"To be fair, a drunken mess is usually the real Daisy Johnson."

"That's for him to discover in good time. What do you think?" Daisy wondered.

"…I…I don't know, Daisy."

"Come on Jemma! Give me one reason why it's a bad idea, aside from _that_." Daisy prompted.

"I'd like my relationship with Leo to last more than a few days?" Jemma suggested playfully.

"Oh, that's very funny. Ha. I'm putting in a lot of effort here! Give me an _actual_ reason!"

"Well…I love you to bits, but you're a dreadful cook."

"Hence the simple menu, Jem, keep up! I've cooked all of these before and no one died after trying them. Yes, Raina was bedridden for three days after eating the chicken, but no one could've predicted the oven would break down after it being in for ten minutes!" Daisy said.

"True, but everyone could've predicted that you wouldn't notice the oven had broken and serve the chicken anyway."

"…Yeah, that was my bad. PLEASE, Jem! Give me this one chance! Do you think he'd like everything on there?" Daisy asked.

"I think so…he had that same dessert when we went out for dinner." Jemma confirmed, reading the potentially life-threatening food on offer once again.

"Great! So, you gonna call and ask him then? What's the worst that could happen?"

"Your food kills him."

"We'd hide the body and no one would ever know. Call him." Daisy pleaded.

"… _If_ he's even free tonight, I'll see what he thinks. He's probably too scared to see you again." Jemma chuckled, putting her sketchbook to the side and picking up her phone to call Leo.

"You've got him on speed dial? You are the cutest."

"Daisy, shut up."

After two rings, Jemma heard Leo answer with a loud bang in the background, clearly from him knocking something over in his clumsiness.

"Hey! You okay?" Leo asked from the other end of the line.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm great. How about you?" Jemma asked.

"I'm very good, especially right now. What's up? You still okay to go out this weekend?" Leo wondered.

"Oh yes, absolutely. It's just…are you free tonight?" Jemma asked.

"Oh, uh…yeah, I think so. Why?"

Jemma found the excitement that appeared in Leo's voice adorable. She turned to her side and saw Daisy practically breathing into her ear with a wide smile, eager for information.

"Well, um…Daisy wants to cook for us." Jemma revealed.

"What's on offer, a bowl of wine with a side of embarrassment?" Leo chuckled. Jemma had to hold in her laugh or else Daisy would know they were laughing about her.

"She wants to make amends in her own way. She wants to get to know you properly. There'll be cheesecake for dessert?" Jemma detailed.

"You should've started with that. What time do you want me there?" Leo asked. Jemma looked at Daisy and tapped her watch. Daisy, picking up on what Jemma was after, mouthed 'about seven'.

"About seven." Jemma said.

"Okay, I'll be there. Can't wait to see you." Leo said. Jemma smiled, blushing slightly.

"And me you. See you soon."

She hung up the phone and turned to an excited looking Daisy.

"Happy now?"

"Yes! You won't regret this, Jem! I'll run down to the shops and get everything I need. Lots to do!" Daisy exclaimed.

"I better not regret this." Jemma sighed to herself as Daisy gathered her things together to head out.

"You know, I ran into Raina the other day. She's a vegetarian now." Daisy recalled.

"I wonder why."

…

Leo was overcome with a sense of nervousness as he approached Jemma's apartment door. Firstly, he'd forgotten to as about a dress code so hoped a nice shirt and jeans would suffice. Secondly, he was feeling a lot of pressure to impress Daisy, even though the whole point of the evening was for Daisy to impress _him_. She was Jemma's best friend, after all, and if she didn't like him it could easily spell disaster. Thirdly, this was the first time he'd seen Jemma since they were 'officially' boyfriend and girlfriend. He needed to maintain the standards he'd already set or he'd be disappointed with himself.

Just as he went to knock on the door, a text came through from Lance on his phone.

' _Sneak a slice of cheesecake home for me."_

He laughed at the message before putting his phone back in his pocket. He had a bouquet of flowers in his right hand, meaning he now had to knock with his left. After a short while wondering if he made a fist with his left hand the same way he did with his right, he came to realise he was getting worked up over knocking on a bloody door and just went for it. He tapped three times on the wooden door satisfyingly and waited, tapping his fingers against his leg.

Very quickly, Jemma opened the door with a warm smile.

"Hi."

"Hi."

Jemma was very quick to step closer and pull Leo into a deep kiss, which Leo approved of greatly. They parted and Leo shyly handed Jemma the bouquet.

"They're lovely, thank you. Come on in." Jemma smiled.

Leo closed the door behind him and finally took the time to see what Jemma was wearing; a navy blue blouse and a black skirt that cut off just below her knees. As always, she looked beautiful. It didn't take long for Leo to also realise his own shirt was the same navy blue as Jemma's blouse.

Jemma put the flowers into a vase and placed them on the coffee table into the room, signalling for Leo to sit down next to her on the couch. As he walked over, she observed his clothing; a navy blue shirt – the same shade as her blouse, pleasing her greatly – and very nicely fitting jeans. She concluded that the only way his outfit could look any better was if it was on her bedroom floor. She'd always thought that photographers looked a bit scruffy and all over the place, but Leo was the one that broke the mould as far as her experience went. Granted, he did look a bit of a mess when she'd first met him, but that was because the prat had forgotten an umbrella.

She laughed at the memory as Leo sat next to her; his hand found hers instantly.

"Thanks for having me over. Lance has started singing to himself ever since he got that date with Bobbi and I'm close to throttling him." Leo recalled and Jemma smiled.

"My pleasure. Besides, it was all Daisy's idea."

"Where is Daisy?" Leo asked.

"Getting changed. Again." Jemma smirked.

"Again?"

"She'd got an outfit together then spilled soup all down it. Bear in mind it was an all-white combo." Jemma recalled.

"Ooh, disaster." Leo grinned as he pictured the image.

"There was a lot of swearing. Luckily she didn't burn herself." Jemma said.

Daisy's bedroom door opened and she stormed back into the kitchen, completely in her own little world.

"You think you know where you are with soup, don't you? Blasted thing; boiling over on me! Let's just hope it doesn't taste like pis-"

Daisy turned towards Jemma and stopped talking as she spotted Leo sat there with a smile on his face.

"…Leo, hi! I…I didn't hear you come in." Daisy said, eyes widened.

"That appears to be a recurring problem in this apartment. And mine, actually. Good to see you again." Leo said.

"…Yes, and you. Thank you for coming over." Daisy said.

"Couldn't say no to free food." Leo smiled.

"Who said it was free?" Daisy chuckled before heading to the oven to check on its contents. She had opted to wear a purple cocktail dress as her new outfit, but soon put an apron on over the top of it just in case.

"…So, did you get the briefing email about Thursday's shoot?" Jemma asked.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks. Should be good fun; I love working with those huge fans." Leo smiled.

Daisy nervously looked around her; she was only nervous because everything currently seemed to be going to plan. It was an unusual feeling for her.

She turned back to Jemma and Leo to ask if either of them wanted something to drink, but stopped short of speaking when she saw them deep in conversation, huge grins on both their faces. She noticed they were holding hands, and that Jemma had tucked her hair behind her ear which she always did when she talked to a guy she fancied. She noticed Jemma had also sat up on the couch, her legs bent and angled to her side which she only did when she was really comfortable. The thing that struck Daisy the most about Jemma was how much her eyes were shining with awe as she listened to Leo talk about whatever the hell it was. She couldn't see Leo's face from where she stood, yet knew he had the same shine in his eyes too.

She smiled at the pair and returned to her cooking, deciding they probably didn't need a drink just yet.

…

After a few spoonfuls of soup, Daisy chuckled to herself. Jemma was sat on one end of the kitchen table with Leo sat to her right and Daisy sat to her left.

"Sorry, I was just about to ask Leo what he did for a living to start a conversation but…duh, we all know what he does, that's how all this came about." Daisy giggled.

"Thank goodness it did." Leo smiled and Jemma blushed.

"Well played, sir. Okay, I have to ask – how the hell did you manage to get a private ride on the London freakin' Eye?" Daisy asked Leo.

"I, uh…I have connections." Leo said.

"You're lucky you saw him first, Jem." Daisy joked. Jemma rolled her eyes. Leo wasn't sure if Daisy was joking or not so laughed and hoped for the best.

"I must admit, Daisy…this soup is lovely." Jemma said.

"Yeah, it really is great." Leo agreed.

"Aw, thanks you guys! I thought it was pretty awesome myself but I didn't want to say anything and sound egotistical. That's the right way of using 'egotistical', right?" Daisy asked. Leo and Jemma both smiled.

…

"…So obviously, with the new gadgets and technology advancing year upon year, you've just gotta go with the flow and keep up with the times. The more we rely on technology, the more we rely on people like me to continue developing as well as optimising current gadgets." Daisy explained. Jemma and Leo both looked at her in confusion.

"…Sorry, what was it you asked me?" She added.

"What your favourite colour is."

…

"I hope you like your steak cooked medium; it's how I like it and I completely overlooked asking you both how you liked it best." Daisy said as the three of them tucked into their main course.

"It's how I have it anyway." Leo and Jemma said at the same time, sharing a look and a smile.

"Wow, you two are more in sync than mine and Jemma's menstrual cycles."

Leo nearly choked on his steak as Jemma shot Daisy a sharp look capable of scaring most demons away.

"Oh god, sorry! That was inappropriate! My bad." Daisy said as Jemma patted Leo on the back to help him digest the food.

"Bloody hell." Leo whispered under his breath as he finally swallowed the steak. Jemma looked at Daisy in a way that said _think before you speak_ as they all went about eating the rest of the course.

There was a long silence as they all ate for another few minutes, then –

"Wow, I bet you both wish I hadn't left the blood on the plates, huh?"

…

"Dessert will be served in a few minutes. I've heard you like cheesecake, Leo." Daisy said proudly as she cleared up the empty dishes and put them on the kitchen counter.

"Absolutely. Can't get enough of the stuff!" Leo grinned.

"Great! I made it from scratch, so I hope you like it." Daisy added.

"I'm sure I will. Homemade stuff always tastes the best."

"I've never had it before, but I've seen pictures and I've seen other people have it and…well, it's just so simple to make, isn't it? That's the beauty of it; took me no time at all!" Daisy said happily.

"Simple but elegant." Jemma nodded, reflecting her earlier summary of Daisy's menu.

"Yeah, I didn't even need a recipe book or anything; I just looked at some pictures online. Crush some biscuits into crumbs to make the base and then the cheese goes on top of it. Done!" Daisy said.

A look of horror came over Leo and Jemma's faces as they looked at each other nervously.

"The uh…the what goes on top?" Jemma asked.

"The CHEESE, Jemma. Open your ears!" Daisy chuckled.

"What, and uh…and nothing's been added to the cheese like, I don't know…sugar? Like in every recipe ever…?" Leo asked, whispering the last part so only he and Jemma heard it.

"It's called CHEESEcake for a reason! You two know how to make it, don't try and make me out to be a fool by pretending you don't. I didn't know what cheese to go for so I just thought 'everyone likes cheddar'. The colour looked the closest to the images online so I thought that had to be the right one.

"So it's just crushed up biscuits with cheddar on top?" Jemma asked.

"Simple but elegant." Daisy smiled.

…

"I'll be honest; I don't get the hype for this, Leo. I mean, good for you for liking it, but it's just…it's a bit TOO cheesy for me." Daisy said, giving up on her dessert with about half of it left.

"It is rather…tangy." Jemma said, not wanting to have another bite but feeling compelled to.

"Yeah, I mean I did leave the cheddar out for a bit because it was hidden under my other shopping bag, but I put it straight in the fridge when I did notice it. But that's okay, right?" Daisy wondered.

"Uh…yeah, yeah." Leo nodded. He could barely look at the plate. Sure, the biscuit base was lovely (though very crumbly as nothing was added to hold the crumbs together) but it was hard to digest a two and a half inch thick piece of left-out-in-the-sun-all-day cheddar.

"Since you like cheesecake so much, I'd let you take the rest of it home with you. Call it an extra way of making up for the other night." Daisy said.

"…I couldn't accept such a kind gift. _Really_." Leo said adamantly.

"I insist!" Daisy exclaimed.

"Right…thank you, Daisy." Leo said, forcing a smile as Jemma held back laughter.

…

"Thank you for the food, Daisy. It was…great." Leo smiled as he got his stuff together to head off. Jemma had quickly popped into her room to grab a paper copy of the briefing for Melinda's photoshoot job the next week for him, leaving him and Daisy alone.

"You're welcome. I really am sorry for my behaviour the other night." Daisy said sincerely.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Water under the bridge." Leo smiled.

"Great! You know, Jemma talks about you all the time. She adores you." Daisy grinned.

"Well, I adore her." Leo blushed.

"You two are the cutest. I hope to have that myself one day. I mean, there are these guys I work with that I keep going backwards and forwards on. I mean, I'll be there at work gawping at Grant's arms and then I'll see Lincoln without a shirt on at the gym and I just wanna jump him there and then. It's a struggle being a woman, Leo." Daisy explained.

"Sorry, uh…who are Grant and Lincoln?"

"Men, Leo. That's all you need to know."

Jemma finally came out of her room and handed Leo the folder with a flirtatious smile.

"Oh, don't forget this!" Daisy smiled, handing Leo the rest of the 'cheesecake' in a Tupperware container.

"…Thank you." Leo said.

"See you soon!" Daisy waved excitedly as Jemma showed Leo out. He smiled back as he went, waving the folder at her since he had no free hands with which to wave properly.

As soon as Jemma shut the door behind her Leo let out a laugh he'd been holding in all evening.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Jemma partly chuckled and partly cried.

"It's okay, really." Leo smirked.

"Please, please, don't even attempt to eat any of that." Jemma said, tapping the Tupperware container.

"I might let Lance try a bit for a laugh, but I won't be touching it. I'll bring the container back when I can."

"Much appreciated. I am sorry about that. She honestly did try her absolute best." Jemma said.

"I know, she clearly did. It's quite endearing, really. Could've done without the menstrual cycle comment, though." Leo laughed. Jemma put her head in her hands.

"What a night."

"Still, I got to know Daisy a lot better, and I got to see you. Still worth it." Leo smiled. Jemma smiled back and, being the only one with any hands free, pulled Leo closer by his shirt and kissed him tenderly.

"I'll call you tomorrow." She blushed.

"I'll be waiting eagerly." Leo smiled, his big blue eyes shining brightly even in the dim corridor. He leant forward and kissed her again before heading down the stairs and out the building, giving Jemma a flirty wink just before he disappeared from her line of sight.

A smitten Jemma walked back into the apartment to find Daisy wiping the kitchen table clean.

"He's lovely, Jem. He honestly is perfect for you." Daisy grinned.

"It means a lot that you like him. He likes you too, even called you endearing." Jemma said.

"What a Scottish sweetheart. Did you like the food?" Daisy asked.

"Oh…yeah. Very impressive. Particularly the cheesecake." Jemma said, having to turn away from Daisy to avoid bursting into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. She felt bad knowing how much that cheese was going to stink up Leo's car on his journey home.

"Yeah, I don't know how he likes it as much as he does. Honestly, I thought it was rank." Daisy sighed.

"Well, I should probably at least give it a go myself, since he likes it so much." Jemma smirked.

"Well, if I can do it you certainly can." Daisy nodded.

"Can you print off a recipe for me? You know I like to be exact and prepared." Jemma asked.

"Uh, sure. I mean, it's really simple, but okay. Give me a sec." Daisy said, opening up her nearby laptop and typing away. Jemma knew what was coming, and the mere thought of it set her off.

"What's so funny?" Daisy asked confusedly as she clicked on the first recipe that showed up after an internet search. Jemma had to sit down on the couch as her giggling continued.

"Let's see…look, this one's only a few steps! Here we are: step one…mix the…hang on…" Daisy mumbled, scrolling down the page. Jemma's laughter had stopped producing sound due to its extremity. Daisy's eyes widened as she continued reading.

"…Oh. OH."

Jemma rolled off the couch and onto the floor, her stomach hurting by this point.

"…Oh, shit."


	10. Chapter 10

"May's Modelling, how may I help you?" Jemma asked openly and politely as she answered the bright red phone on her desk.

One of the benefits of working for Melinda May was that most people were too scared to contact her over the phone or in person, which meant Jemma mainly conversed with clients through emails. She handled all of that exceptionally well. On rare occasions, however, someone would have the guts to ring up to try and speak to Melinda personally; more often than shot she was too busy so Jemma had to leave a message for her. Jemma was never comfortable speaking to potential clients over the phone in case she stumbled on her words or mispronounced something. However, when someone did ring she tried her absolute best to hide the crushing anxiety inside of her.

"I'm sorry, but she's out of office at the moment. Would you like me to take a message for you? Okay, I'll just write that down quickly. There we are. What was the name again sir? Okay! You're very welcome. Goodbye!"

She gently placed the phone down and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness for that."

Having written the message on a post-it note, she stuck it near the top of her monitor to guarantee she'd remember to pass it on as soon as Melinda returned to the office for a conference.

As if it were planned, it was barely a minute before Melinda walked into the room with a powerful strut, smiling at Jemma as she approached the desk.

"I thought the conference didn't end for another two hours?" Jemma asked, confused.

"It doesn't. It was so poorly organised I refused to stay. Can you schedule in some time for me to put together an email for them either today or tomorrow? I'm gonna tear that company to into shreds." Melinda smirked gleefully.

"I'll get right on it." Jemma smiled, looking through Melinda's schedule on the computer on clocking the post-it note, mentally noting to pass the message on before Melinda returned to her office.

"Now, you know I'm not one to pry…" Melinda began.

"Except for the fact that you absolutely _are_..." Jemma smiled.

"…How are things with Leopold?" May asked, leaning against the desk in anticipation.

"Knowing you, you've probably hired someone to follow me around to get this information." Jemma smirked.

"I did, but all his pictures were blurry." Melinda joked.

"Things are _incredible_ , if you must know." Jemma blushed.

"So you got past the awkwardness of your roommate walking in drunk just as you two were about to -"

"-Yes, yes we did. I mean we haven't…you know, done _that_ yet, but I feel like it'll be coming soon. Pardon the pun." Jemma said, almost embarrassed at what she'd just said.

"I'm glad things are going so well for you two. I expect big things from him on Thursday!" Melinda said.

"I'm sure he'll deliver; I'm going round his for dinner tomorrow and he's going to show me some initial ideas he's sketched up for shots." Jemma explained excitedly.

"Ooh, Saturday night alone with your boyfriend… _anything could happen_." Melinda grinned, turning to head into her office.

"Oh, here you go. Message for you; he only just rang, but he said he was an old friend of yours." Jemma said, passing the post-it note to Melinda. As she read it, her face dropped. She scrunched up the note and threw it in the bin by the desk.

"If he calls again, tell him I don't want to talk to him." Melinda said sternly, marching towards her office.

"Oh, okay." Jemma said, confused but knowing she definitely shouldn't pry any further. Melinda closed her office door with a lot of force, almost like the note had brought about a tension in her she had to relieve as quickly as possible.

Jemma shrugged as she returned to work, wondering why on Earth a guy with a name as ordinary as 'Andrew' could spook the remarkable Melinda May.

…

"Right then, I'm off." Lance said as he threw a jacket over his shoulder and headed for the apartment door. He was clean shaven and dressed in a perfectly fitted white shirt and black jeans. Leo stared at him from the couch.

"…What?" Lance asked as he opened the door.

"I miss the stubble already." Leo said.

"Me too, but I have to look smart, don't I?" Lance said.

"Better try something else then." Leo chuckled as Lance made an obscene gesture with his hand.

"Very funny."

"And for the love of God, if things escalate PLEASE go back to her place." Leo begged as Lance laughed.

"Cross my heart. So, is tonight _the_ night for you and Jemma to, you know…plant the seed? Park the car? Karma the chameleon?" Lance smirked.

"Firstly, ew. Secondly, we're letting things progress naturally. We've gotten to that place before, but I'll wait as long as she wants to." Leo said.

"You truly are a walking cliché, aren't you? I'm welling up." Lance said sarcastically.

"Piss off and go on your bloody date, you moron. I highly recommend the cheesecake for dessert." Leo grinned.

"I'm not eating cheesecake ever again after what you pulled the other day you utter bastard! I see that monstrosity every time I close my eyes. You're not forgiven for that, by the way." Lance said angrily.

"You asked me to bring you back some cheesecake. I did." Leo said, feigning innocence.

"It was many, many things, but cheesecake was not one of them." Lance shook his head in disgust. "Anyway, I need to go. Have fun, you twat."

"Good luck, bud." Leo shouted supportively as Lance shut the door and headed out to pick up Bobbi.

It wasn't long until Jemma turned up at the apartment. After a brief tour of the place and a _very_ enjoyable make out session, Leo showed Jemma some of his sketches in preparation for the shoot on the following Thursday.

"Obviously, drawing isn't my speciality." Leo chuckled as Jemma flicked through the various drawings.

"So the camera moves along the track and consistently takes photos as it goes?" Jemma observed.

"Yeah, then we can merge all the shots together to make a time lapse kind of effect, with the final shot we take being the one we look clearer than the rest in the edit." Leo explained.

"So it'll look like she's run really fast?" Jemma asked.

"Exactly. The big fans will help get the speed element across as well." Leo said.

"Aren't you the cleverest?" Jemma chuckled.

"In all the land!" Leo exclaimed, making Jemma giggle as she kissed him. His phone suddenly buzzed and concern filled his face as he picked it up to check it. He quickly looked relieved as he read the text he'd been sent.

"What's up?" Jemma asked.

"Oh, nothing. It was just my mum and one of her rants about politics. I was scared it was Lance with a 'code red'." Leo explained.

"What's a 'code red'?" Jemma wondered.

"We have this pact that if either one of us were on a date that wasn't going well and needed an out, we could text the other and ask for a 'code red'; we'd phone them and say there's been an emergency or create any kind of excuse to end the date early." Leo revealed.

"That's…quite a good plan, actually." Jemma nodded.

"It's almost flawless."

"I'm not liking the 'almost'."

"I was out with a girl once, having a good time, and Lance rang to say he'd been in a car accident and broken his arm. I thought he'd used a 'code red' as a joke so I had a big go at him. Turns out he genuinely had been in a crash and broken his arm. Bit awkward." Leo recalled regretfully.

"Wow. What happened to the girl?" Jemma asked.

"We went out once more after that, where I quickly realised I only enjoyed her company the first time because I was drunk." Leo explained.

"Lucky escape for her then." Jemma teased. Leo playfully leant into her with a smile.

"…I do wonder how Lance and Little Miss Needs A Burger Or Ten are getting on…" Jemma added.

"From what I've seen, his dates are either flawless or catastrophic. There is no in between." Leo smirked.

"…Do you know where they're going for dinner?" Jemma asked.

"Yeah, it's about fifteen minutes down the road, just outside the city centre." Leo replied.

After a moment, he looked at her and saw a mischievous smirk on her face and a glint in her eye.

"…You want to spy on them, don't you?"

"Well, I'm the one who got him her number, I made this date possible. I kind of want to see my good work in action. Plus, I get the feeling that Lance is really entertaining to make uncomfortable." Jemma answered.

"…That's true, he is." Leo smiled.

"We can just have a sneaky look, even just through the window, then come back and order some dinner in?" Jemma suggested.

"…Or we could go there for dinner as well?" Leo said gleefully.

"You really _are_ the cleverest in all the land." Jemma grinned happily.

…

"I'm almost flattered that you went through all that trouble just to get my number." Bobbi smiled at Lance as she looked over the menu in her hands. Lance watched her with a smile, having already decided nothing was going to stop him from devouring a steak, and almost failed to catch what she was saying.

"Hold on… _almost_ flattered?" He questioned.

"You expect me to believe that you'd have wanted my number even if we hadn't gone back to yours that night?" Bobbi smirked.

"…You think you've got me all figured out, don't you?" Lance smiled.

"I think I probably do." Bobbi nodded in a way that was somehow flirtatious.

"I'll have you know, I had a lot of fun just talking to you. I wanted to know more about you. Who'd have thought you were one of the models my best mate had just taken a few snaps of?" Lance revealed. Bobbi looked genuinely touched.

"…I see. I'm sorry for assuming you think with something other than your brain." Bobbi said.

"No problem." Lance smiled. Bobbi smiled back before examining the menu again for a few moments.

"The sex was great though, wasn't it?" Lance smirked and Bobbi chuckled, putting the menu down.

"I can agree with that."

"Most women would've thumped me and stormed out at a comment like that." Lance noted. Bobbi leaned forward slightly.

"I'm not most women."

"…No, you're bloody not." Lance grinned.

Bobbi laughed delicately before her eyes were drawn to two people walking into the restaurant and being seated at a table to the left of her and Lance, but with a long table between the two pairs.

"…Sorry, isn't that Leo there?" Bobbi asked, pointing.

"I doubt it," Lance said, turning to follow Bobbi's line of sight, "He's staying in with Jemma and ordering so…n of a bitch."

For the first time in a while, Lance felt panic as Leo looked over to him and gave a tiny little wave with a wide grin.

"I didn't expect him to come here." Bobbi said.

"He clearly decided to try and make me suffer instead." Lance sighed, holding back the frustration he was feeling and looking forward to kicking Leo in the face at the earliest opportunity he got.

"Like you wouldn't do the same thing to him?" Bobbi smiled.

"Of course I wouldn't! Again."

"That's kinda funny, you have to admit. I thought you'd never let that cocky exterior melt away but alas, Lance Hunter can be vulnerable." Bobbi teased.

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead, laugh away." Lance sighed, looking over at Leo the way a cat would look at another cat that has crossed into its territory.

"No, I quite like it. Tough, cocky types get boring fast." Bobbi said.

"I never tend to do _anything_ fast…you should know."

"Yes, we've had sex. I know. I was there." Bobbi rolled her eyes with a smile and looked over at Leo and Jemma, who were deep in their own conversation.

"Those two look sweet together." She observed.

"Do they? I must be blinded by my rage." Lance said, realising that this was the first time he'd seen Jemma in person. He looked at Leo and was taken back by just how _happy_ he looked. Yes, Leo had spent hours and hours going on about how much he adored this remarkable Jemma Simmons woman, but Lance had always thought he'd over exaggerated and romanticised it like he always did.

Lance had never, ever seen his best friend's blue eyes shine quite so brightly before. He'd never seen anything quite like the way Leo Fitz looked at Jemma Simmons except the way Jemma Simmons looked at Leo Fitz.

To his surprise, he actually smiled at them.

"I think they've gotten too caught up with each other to try and embarrass you." Bobbi chuckled admiringly.

"Yeah, I think so too." Lance said, the anger he felt melting away.

"Careful, it almost looked like you cared about someone else for a minute there." Bobbi teased.

"He's my best mate. He's had my back through a lot of crap." Lance said.

"That's really sweet." Bobbi smiled, impressed with the fact that Lance Hunter was actually a layered, complex human being. She decided then and there she would very much like to learn more about him.

"Don't get me wrong, he's an utter prick. But a caring, funny, utter prick." Lance chuckled and Bobbi chuckled with him.

"Maybe you should ask _him_ out." Bobbi joked.

"…He's spent a hell of a lot of time going on and on about Jemma and how wonderful she is; it's just nice to see it's not all in his head like it normally is. This Jemma seems to be different. I always made fun of him whenever he brought her up or made some kind of witty comment, but really I was just pretty jealous. I realised it was about time I had something like that; someone I found fascinating that I could potentially really like. Really, really like." Lance explained.

"…Is that so?" Bobbi smiled, blushing slightly.

"Why do you think I was so desperate to see you again?" Lance smiled.

"…Okay, please make some kind of witty comment. You've been too sweet for too long." Bobbi teased and Lance laughed.

…

"Look at them over there." Bobbi said, amused. Lance turned to face Leo and Jemma (after three courses and chatting with Bobbi he'd almost forgotten they were there) and saw they were both crying with laughter over something. Looking closer, he saw Leo had a slice of cheesecake in front of him and kept bursting into laughter every time he tried to have a bite of it. Jemma held a napkin to her face to soak up the endless stream of tears falling from her amusement.

"What's all that about?" Bobbi wondered.

"I think I know. Basically, Jemma has this roommate…"

…

"I can't believe it took me twenty five minutes to eat that bloody cheesecake." Leo laughed as he took out his wallet to pay for the meal.

"You should've seen Daisy's face when she found out she'd gotten it wrong, bless her." Jemma smiled.

"Well hello there Giggles the Clown and his girlfriend Betty Laughs-A-Lot. Fancy seeing you here?" Lance joked as he walked up to Leo and Jemma's table.

"You know, it completely slipped my mind you'd be here." Leo smirked.

"Consider yourself lucky you got too bloody distracted in all your lovey dovey-ness and cheesecake antics to actually embarrass me." Lance said.

"To be fair to him, I was the one who suggested we come here. I just wanted to see my good work in action." Jemma piped up. Lance looked at her and smiled.

"I suppose I should really thank you for getting me Bobbi's number, so I won't hold this against you. Nice to meet you at last." Lance said, offering a hand out to Jemma, who politely shook it and smiled.

"Likewise." She said.

"You're exactly as I pictured you. Leo explained your every feature in _excruciating_ detail at least twelve times." Lance smirked as Leo blushed.

"Where is Bobbi?" Leo asked, desperate to change the subject.

"Waiting by the car. We're, uh…we're going back to hers. Clearly she didn't have enough dessert." Lance smiled with a wink. Leo rolled his eyes with a sigh.

"Go and be crude somewhere else, would you?" Leo chuckled.

"A woman wants what a woman wants, eh Jemma?" Lance said. Jemma blushed.

"Go on, get lost before Bobbi comes to her senses and makes her own way home." Leo teased.

"Whatever. I doubt I'll be seeing you again tonight, so enjoy the rest of your evening. And it genuinely was lovely to meet you, Jemma." Lance smiled before rushing out of the restaurant.

"…So that's Lance." Leo said.

"I was expecting a bit more sarcasm and cynicism." Jemma revealed.

"Yeah, I think Bobbi put him in a good mood." Leo noted, leaving some cash on the table and standing up. Jemma followed suit, staring at Leo intently.

"…You okay?" Leo asked, concerned.

"Lance won't be back at yours tonight." Jemma said.

"Poor Bobbi." Leo joked.

"So, your apartment's gonna be empty…" Jemma began.

"Yep."

"…all night…"

"Yeah, I guess…oh."

Leo finally caught the flirtation in Jemma's hazel eyes.

"…Are you, uh…do you…I mean, I uh…are you saying…?" Leo muttered, but was stopped by Jemma taking his hand in hers and leaning into his ear.

"A woman wants what a woman wants." She whispered.


	11. Chapter 11

When Leo opened his apartment door and didn't projectile vomit across the room he was impressed; his nerves had been building and getting worse more and more on the journey back from the restaurant. He'd been focusing so hard on making sure the hand that was delicately holding Jemma's didn't shake that his face had gone a deep red from the strain. Jemma, meanwhile, had been remarkably calm and collected the whole journey; Leo wondered if she was just better at controlling her nerves than he was. If she even was nervous, that is. Yes, she made it very clear what she wanted, but she had to still be a little apprehensive, right?

"Do you, uh…shall I show you around?" Leo asked nervously, scratching the back of his head and looking at anything but Jemma. She giggled lightly.

"You showed me around earlier, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." Leo forced a chuckle. There was a short silence; Jemma was the one to break it.

"Leo…"

"Tea?" Leo said quickly, his voice going very squeaky at the end as he rushed over to the kettle. He switched it on and when he turned back he saw Jemma stood right in front of him.

"Bloody hell!" He muttered.

"Sorry, I just…you seem a little tense." Jemma noted with concern.

"Me? Nah. Nope. Nuh uh."

"…Leo, it's okay. We don't have to…if you don't want to -"

"-NO! It's not that I…I _do_ …it's just…are _you_ sure?" Leo asked. Jemma looked slightly shocked.

"…Of course I am, you heard what I said in the restaurant." Jemma said.

"I know, but I'm still terrified that I'm dreaming all of this." Leo admitted.

"Why?"

"Because… _look at you_! You're there looking all perfect and amazing and…I can get struck by crippling social anxiety at any time, I'm allergic to dandelions – DANDELIONS, of all things! – and do you not remember me running into your office and falling over in front of you, Melinda and those models like an absolute prat?" Leo said sadly. Jemma looked at him with wide, thoughtful eyes and took his hand in hers, her thumb gently caressing his palm.

"I get struck by things too. The day we met, I was struck by how handsome you are. I'm struck by how you make organising dates look so easy. I'm struck by how incredibly humble you are, and all I can remember when you crashed to the floor was how adorable you were. Leo, if you could see yourself the way I see you…I wish you could. You'd never, ever doubt yourself again. Everything you listed just then make you interesting and, most importantly, make you _human_. Look at tonight; I haven't laughed in the last six months as much as I did with you! I'm afraid you're stuck with me, because every time I look at cheesecake from now on I'll think of you and smile until my face hurts. If you weren't a part of my life and that happened I'd miss you too much, and I know you wouldn't want to make me sad." Jemma smiled as she spoke passionately.

"…Pretty good speech." Leo muttered with a smirk and Jemma laughed.

"It's okay to be nervous or scared. I'm nervous, too; it's normal. But I also know that I want this. A lot, actually." Jemma smiled.

"…Can I get that on paper, or maybe have you record it on my phone?" Leo joked and Jemma playfully shoved him before pulling him closer again (she didn't like him being out of reach).

"I'm glad we're both scared, because it's just another thing we can go through together. The question is…" Jemma linked her fingers with his. "…do you think you can brave it?"

"…I'll do my best to power through." Leo smiled.

Jemma's lips curved in such an inviting way that Leo just had to kiss them immediately. He gently pulled her closer into him as she deepened the kiss, her hands wrapping around his neck as elegantly as a professional skater moves across the ice. They backed into the wall as Jemma began undoing the buttons on Leo's shirt. After unbuttoning a few, she stopped and turned back to look at the door.

"Hold on…" She said.

"…What is it?" Leo asked nervously.

"Just making sure Daisy isn't there to drunkenly interrupt us this time." Jemma smirked and Leo chuckled.

"Shut up and kiss me."

"If you insist…"

Their lips danced together perfectly as they shuffled closer and closer to Leo's bedroom door, ultimately slamming against it as Leo's lips moved down Jemma's neck. She was pressed against the door, her fingers running through Leo's hair as she bit her lip. Suddenly, she sniggered as she felt Leo laughing into her shoulder.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I'm just replaying our first conversation in my head. How the hell did I manage to get this far?" Leo wondered, staring into Jemma's eyes as if she were the answer to every question.

"Quite brilliantly." Jemma replied, smiling as she kissed Leo again. One of his hands held her waist as the other felt for the door handle. He found it and pulled it down…

…sending them flying down on the floor in a heap.

Leo had managed to put his hands on the floor just before smacking Jemma in the face with his head. He looked down at her and was relieved to see she was laughing.

"That was supposed to be really sexy; I didn't think it through." Leo admitted, joining Jemma in her laughter.

"…You are by far the most interesting man I've ever met." Jemma said as he moved her hair out of her eye; she was too busy staring up at him to do it herself.

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not." Leo chuckled.

"I think I could make a pretty good guess." Jemma whispered.

Leo smiled as he leant down and kissed her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he scooped her up in his arms, kicked the bedroom door closed and placed her gently onto the bed. He kissed the side of her neck he'd yet to touch as she finished unbuttoning his shirt, pulling it away from his back and watching in satisfaction as he shook it completely off of his body without taking his lips away from her skin. Her fingers gently trailed up and down the muscles of his bare back as his lips found hers again.

As they parted, they shared a sweet smile as if to say _I can't believe this is actually happening_ before Jemma saw one of Leo's many cameras on the bedside table and smirked.

"…Want to take a picture to cherish the moment?" She teased, unbuttoning her blouse.

"Believe it or not, I think I'll be remembering this quite vividly." Leo said with a passion in his voice that made Jemma temporarily abandon unbuttoning her blouse in favour of kissing him again. Leo, being the good boyfriend he was, dutifully took over the task as they both fell back onto the bed and switched off the lights.

…

Jemma woke up when a cold breeze blew over her from an open window; it was a comfortable and welcome breeze. She didn't really remember falling asleep, just closing her eyes with a smile as she rested her head on Leo's chest. Opening her eyes long enough to adjust to the limited light, she saw that nothing had changed from when she fell asleep; she angled her head upwards slightly and saw Leo smiling at her softly. A patch of hair on the back of his head was stuck up in a tuft.

"Hi." He whispered.

"Hi. What time is it?" Jemma asked, unable to keep the smile off her face. Leo leaned over to check the alarm clock by the bed.

"Just after 1am."

"How long have you been up?" She wondered, sitting up and shuffling next to him.

"Not that long." He said, wrapping an arm around her and kissing the top of her head.

For the first time, the short silence that followed was a comfortable one. The two love-struck fools relaxed for a few beautiful moments, soaking each other in. Jemma's delicately rubbed up and down Leo's chest with her index finger while his thumb caressed her shoulder, both their free hands linked perfectly with one another.

"Well, _that_ was quite something." Jemma grinned eventually. She almost felt bad for breaking the silence; perhaps if they'd stayed quiet long enough, time would stop and they could have stayed in that moment forever.

"That was incredible. _You_ are incredible."

"So are you." Jemma smiled, kissing Leo once more before letting out a light-hearted sigh.

"…Daisy and Melinda are going to be _unbearable_ when they find out about this."

"We don't have to say anything just yet." Leo suggested, nonetheless letting out a chuckle at Jemma's remark.

"1am and I'm not home; Daisy will already know. And Melinda will know the second I walk into work on Monday; that woman knows everything." Jemma said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she's got a camera set up in here." Leo joked and Jemma laughed.

"Let's hope not; she'd never be able to look at me the same way." Jemma blushed.

"If she's anything like me, she'll be exceptionally impressed." Leo smirked.

"I did take a few risks that second time round." Jemma smiled with a hint of pride.

"Bloody paid off; I'm not sure I can feel my legs." Leo chuckled and Jemma laughed, playfully hitting him.

"Oh, shut up." She giggled.

"Mrs Thompson downstairs is deaf as can be and I bet we still woke her up." He grinned.

"I think she'd have already come up to moan if he had." Jemma smiled.

"I guess we'll just have to try again, then." Leo said flirtatiously and Jemma giggled again.

"I guess so."

Leo rolled back on top of Jemma and muted her infectious laughter with a passionate kiss.

"For someone with luck as horrendous as mine, I've been incredibly blessed with you, Jemma Simmons."

"If anyone is blessed, Leo Fitz, it's me. Now let's knock the hearing aids out of Mrs Thompson." Jemma ordered, biting her lip.

"Yes, ma'am." Leo grinned adorably.


	12. Chapter 12

Jemma lit up the room as she walked into her apartment early the next morning. After cooking and eating breakfast with Leo, he insisted on giving her a lift home, and after a very long kiss goodbye she practically flew up the stairs with the elegance of a gazelle. Being careful not to wake Daisy (it was before ten on a Sunday – she'd almost certainly still be asleep), she slowly closed the front door and placed her bag on the kitchen side before hearing a series of screeches from the corner of the room. She turned in the direction of the noise to see Daisy sat on a chair and shuffling it around to face her, the legs of the chair scraping the floor as she did so.

"Mooooorrrrniiiiinnnnng." Daisy said with a huge grin.

"What are you doing up this early?" Jemma asked, trying to change the subject before she blushed too much.

"I wanted to be up when you got in and watch you do the walk of shame. It would have been cooler if we had a swivel chair. We should get one." Daisy explained, standing up and taking a few steps closer to Jemma with a smirk. "How was your night?"

"Wonderful, I'll have you know." Jemma blushed.

"I bet it was. Look at you, getting a taste of Scotland without actually going there."

"Daisy!"

"Do you like the taste of shortbread? Getting the hang of playing the bagpipes? Itching to buy a tartan dress?"

"Stop it! I never do this when you come home after staying elsewhere overnight." Jemma said as she sat down on the couch, Daisy joining her.

"Those are all one night stands, Jem! This is you sleeping with your boyfriend for the first time – that's always a huge deal. Speaking of which, did he have a _huge deal_?" Daisy smirked.

"You're awful." Jemma chuckled, shaking her head at her friend's words.

"Okay, okay…seriously though, how was it?" Daisy asked, her tone now letting Jemma know she was in 'serious friend' mode. Jemma's red face and wide grin told her all she needed to know.

"It was _incredible_ , Daisy. Really, really incredible."

"I'm so happy for you, Jem! I knew it would be. He has that kind of energy about him, you know? On the outside he's a bit daft and clumsy but when it comes down to it he knows what he's doing." Daisy commented.

"He _certainly_ does." Jemma smirked.

"Right then, just one more thing I need to know. Seriously this time." Daisy stated, pressing her two index fingers together then slowly moving them apart, the length between them getting longer with each passing second. Jemma watched her and chuckled. After a considerable number of seconds, Daisy stared at Jemma with wide eyes.

"Now I'm starting to worry for you."

"You have no idea." Jemma sniggered, standing up to make herself a cup of tea. Daisy smiled before reaching for her laptop. Jemma looked at her in confusion.

"What are you doing?"

"Ordering a swivel chair."

…

Leo was sat on the couch with a smile on his face; the TV was on but he wasn't really paying much attention to it. He was living in his own personal bubble of happiness. The apartment door opened and Lance walked in. The two men made eye contact and nodded at one another, saying nothing.

Still in silence, Lance closed the door and put his wallet and keys on the kitchen table, Leo still facing but not really watching the TV. Lance turned towards his bedroom door and began walking towards it. As he reached the couch, Leo raised his arm in the air.

Lance high fived Leo, never stopping as he made his way into his bedroom and shut the door.

…

Jemma's phone rang while she checked her emails on her laptop; she quickly answered it, expecting it to be Leo.

"Hey!"

"Mooooorrrrniiiiinnnnng."

Even though she couldn't see her, Jemma knew Melinda was smirking on the other end of the phone.

"Good morning, Melinda. How did you know?"

"Know what?" Melinda asked, feigning innocence.

"You know what." Jemma smiled, blushing once again.

"I knew you had a date with Leo last night; I just assumed things may have happened. I assumed correctly, by the sound of your voice." Melinda said happily.

"…I never thought I'd get a call from my boss asking me about my sex life."

"I didn't ask a thing, you brought it up. I was just curious to see how the lovebirds I put together got on. I'm very happy for you, Jemma." Melinda said happily.

"Thank you, Melinda."

"Well, I'll let you get back to your weekend! See you tomorrow, Mrs Fitz." Melinda chuckled.

"Oh, hold on a minute! I just got an email from that guy who phoned for you before." Jemma said.

"…Andrew?" May said after a long silence.

"Yeah. He seems very eager to see you."

"I told you what to tell him, Jemma. There will be no meetings or contact of any kind." Melinda said sternly.

"…May I ask why?" Jemma wondered, but was met with silence. Melinda had hung up.

…

"She _ripped_ my shirt off, mate. Like a wild animal. Bloody amazing. It's properly torn down the sleeve." Lance recalled, awe in his eyes as he and Leo tucked into a pizza.

"She doesn't come across to be the type to do that when you talk to her." Leo stated.

"That's why it's bloody amazing. I mean, it's different, but I'm very happy to get used to it." Lance smiled.

"Jemma was incredible too. I can't get over how lucky I am." Leo said.

"That's because you don't give yourself enough credit, mate." Lance said.

"Because you spend most of our time together insulting me."

"No I don't, you bloody prick." Lance smirked.

"I just…I really think this could be it, Lance. No one else could ever dream of coming close to her perfect she is." Leo smiled.

"I'll drink to that." Lance nodded.

"…We don't have anything." Leo said, noting that neither of the men had a drink nearby.

"Let's fix that." Lance said, hopping up and heading to the fridge. Leo watched him go for a moment; his thoughts returned to Jemma and he smiled.

…

"Did he, like…take photos? You know, of…of you two…?"

"NO! It's his profession, he's not a weirdo!" Jemma exclaimed.

"Woah, okay! It's not as uncommon as you think. Vicki from work said she found a photo album her parents kept and there was a photo for every position they -"

"-NEVER FINISH THAT STORY." Jemma ordered. She and Daisy were sat at the kitchen table tucking into a meal she'd cooked.

"…Do you think I'll ever find it with someone? What you and Leo have?" Daisy asked eventually and solemnly.

" _Of course_ you will. It's not about if, but about when." Jemma said softly, squeezing Daisy's hand supportively.

"Thanks, Jem."

The two women smiled sweetly at one another before eating in silence for a minute or two.

"…So tell me about Melinda and this Andrew guy."

"That's the thing; I have no idea what the deal is with them…"

…

Leo chuckled as he read another text from Jemma. They'd been texting practically all day, a mix of compliments and gossip, from Melinda and the mysterious Andrew to Bobbi and Lance. After sending a rather flirtatious reply, he began the extensive process of cleaning his camera in preparation for Thursday's upcoming job for Melinda. He had wipes, sprays and brushes all laid out in front of him.

Lance walked into the room and stopped. Leo looked up at him.

"What?"

"All I saw was you, the box of wipes and a bottle of gel. I wondered if I was interrupting something I really didn't want to see." Lance smirked.

"Oh, shut up." Leo chuckled. Lance sat down in the chair next to the couch Leo was on and smiled at his best friend.

"You've never looked happier." He said.

"I was gonna say the same about you." Leo grinned.

"It's funny how life can turn around just like that, huh?"

"Yeah. Thank God it did." Leo nodded.

"Amen." Lance agreed, taking a swig of a beer on the table.

"That's mine."

"You're busy; I'll look after it for you."

…

"Goodnight, Jem." Daisy smiled as she popped her head out of her door.

"Goodnight. Sure you're okay?" Jemma asked.

"Always." Daisy nodded before closing her door gently.

Jemma sat back into the couch, spreading her legs right across it and basking in the comfort. She thought she'd felt true happiness before, but she hadn't until that moment. She'd never been so glad of being alive.

Her thoughts returned to Leo and she smiled.


	13. Chapter 13

Daisy sighed at almost the exact second her alarm went off on the Monday morning, as if she'd been finely tuned to know the exact second she'd have to wake up for work over the years. After staring at nothing in particular for a few minutes, she used all the energy she had to sit up and rub her eyes. She turned to the long mirror positioned in the corner of her room, smiling slightly at the sight of her tumbleweed-like hair.

She fumbled around her wardrobe for a while before deciding on a simple patterned shirt and black jeans to wear to work before trying her best not to squeal in pain as she attempted to brush her hair enough for her to resemble a human being again. She'd had a shower just before bed the previous night to give her more time to sleep, but even that appeared to have not been enough to give her a fully rested feeling. It may not have seemed like it to most people, but Daisy truly was a hard worker. Her job developing software and advancing technology wasn't easy by any stretch of the imagination; she had to be focused and determined most of the time. That was why she took it so easy and tried her best to have fun whenever she was home with Jemma.

Jemma. Daisy could hear her roommate and best friend skipping around the living area just outside her door, lightly humming to herself in a state of bliss. Daisy was truly happy for Jemma; she deserved to be happy with a lovely guy, and Leo was perfect for her. As bad as she felt about it, however, she was jealous. She wanted to have a relationship like that for herself.

"Morning!" Jemma happily exclaimed the moment Daisy opened her door and walked into the living area.

"Don't remind me, I'm so tired. It doesn't matter how much sleep I get." Daisy groaned, heading for the kitchen to scrape some sort of breakfast together for herself.

"We all get like that sometimes. Why don't you take the day off and rest up a bit?" Jemma suggested.

"I'd get behind on my work then. I don't want to deal with the stress of that later on." Daisy stated solemnly.

"Okay. Well, Leo's picking me up and taking me to work soon; he's got a meeting with Melinda about Thursday. I can ask him to give you a lift." Jemma said.

"No, it's okay. I wouldn't want to interrupt quality Fitzsimmons time." Daisy said as she sat on a stool in the kitchen with a bowl of cereal.

"Um, Fitzsimmons?" Jemma asked, confused. "What's that?"

"Leo FITZ and Jemma SIMMONS. FITZSIMMONS. I thought of it the other day and if you think I won't be using it that often, think again." Daisy said.

"I think you need to get a hobby." Jemma suggested with a chuckle.

 _Or a boyfriend_ , Daisy thought to herself.

"…Are you sure you're alright?" Jemma asked motherly.

"Of course I am."

"It's just…I know you're worried about finding that special someone and you told me you were okay last night when you clearly weren't…it's gonna happen, Daisy. Besides, you've got Grant and Lincoln on the go, right?" Jemma smirked.

"Grant got relocated to the 14th floor; I don't see him much now, and I never saw Lincoln that much anyway. He only works there part-time – he's a part owner of the gym so that's where he spends his time." Daisy sighed.

"…Well, just ask one of them on a date when you do see them. Or both of them. It's 2016, women can ask men on dates." Jemma said.

"Riiigght, I forgot you were the one who asked Leo out. Oh wait, no. He asked _you_ , even though you liked him but was too scared too. It's flattering to be the one who was asked out, you know?" Daisy said sadly. Jemma didn't have a reply to offer up.

…

The elevator was cramped all the way up to the 12th floor of SciOps, as always. Daisy was wedged between an overweight man who stank of cheese and the guy from the 15th floor who picked his nose at his desk. Employees of SciOps certainly weren't a reflection of the pristine, modernised, slick feel of the skyscraper itself.

Daisy swiped her key card through the door to her floor and made her way into her small office space. It had a nice view but the air conditioning was _still_ broken, meaning she had to have all her windows open to stay cool but the noise of the outside work often distracted her from her work.

Switching on her computer, she quickly flicked through her emails until one for the Floor Leader caught her eye.

 _Hi all,_

 _You all knew this was coming – time for our pictures to be taken for the annual newsletter! Still don't have much organised yet but we're hoping to get a photographer in within the next few weeks to take some portrait shots as well as a group photo. Make sure you're looking your best over the next few weeks and I'll let you know when we get more info._

 _Thanks!_

 _Phil_

Without much cognitive thought, Daisy found herself replying to the email saying she knew a great photographer who would almost certainly be cheaper than the one the company usually hired, adding to send her an email if they wanted his contact details.

She closed her emails and logged onto the company's system to inspect some new blueprints that had been sent her way. As she scrolled through them, making extensive notes and comments as she went, there was a knock on the glass door to her office. She looked up and was pleasantly surprised to see the handsome, stubbly face of Lincoln Campbell smiling at her.

It went against her usual type to find someone with lighter hair attractive, but the dirty blonde look really worked for Lincoln. That and his six pack and muscles, of course. Plus, he always came across as a down to earth, simple guy.

"Hello, stranger." Lincoln smiled teasingly. He wore a slim fitting long-sleeved black t-shirt (probably worn purposefully to emphasise his buff physique) and skinny jeans. Daisy also made note of the red converse she'd never not seen him wear, even when she'd ran into him on the rare occasion she actually made use of her gym membership.

"Oh, have we met before?" Daisy teased, her tiredness almost lifting itself out of her body and flying out the open windows of her office.

"Funny." Lincoln chuckled, taking a step closer into the office and pulling a file out of the laptop case hung over his shoulder. He gently handed it to Daisy with a smile.

"Gavin wanted you to have that. Something to do with potential clients?" Lincoln offered.

"Oh, yeah. We're looking to work with some anti-virus firms to develop a new product. Gavin getting lazy in his old age, getting you to come here and give it to me? He's only one floor up." Daisy wondered.

"No, I was passing through and offered to bring it to you on my way out. It'd been a while since I'd seen you, anyway." Lincoln smiled, and there was a glint in his eyes that Daisy feared she was probably reading too much into.

"Well, thank you very much." Daisy grinned.

"No problem."

Daisy asked the first question that popped into her head to keep the conversation going.

"That looks very new." Daisy said, gesturing towards Lincoln's laptop case; the sheen of it indicated it wasn't that well used yet. Plus, she was pretty sure his case had been red when she'd last seen him, not green.

"Yeah, only had it a few weeks now. I can afford it now business is booming at the gym." Lincoln said pompously, though Daisy knew he was saying it snobbishly on purpose and smiled.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, the fitness market is on the up like nobody's business. We're even in the process of putting a website together. We want it to be really professional, you know? We hired someone to design it and we're gonna get someone in to take a few photos of the place and the equipment on offer, stuff like that." Lincoln explained. Daisy looked at him in awe.

 _Two opportunities in one day? Leo Fitz, you owe me big time._

"Well, um…since you're bringing that up, my roommate's boyfriend is a professional photographer. I could get you a pretty good deal." Daisy suggested and Lincoln's face lit up.

"Seriously? That would be amazing!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Great! I could try and find the details now, um…" Daisy began.

"Well, I actually have a meeting to get to and I don't want to keep you from your work. Um…why don't you come to the gym when you finish and fill me in then?" Lincoln suggested.

"Uh, yeah. Okay. I'll see you later." Daisy smiled.

"See you later. Thanks again, you're the best." Lincoln grinned, giving Daisy a wink as he headed out. He was quickly out of sight and Daisy could start breathing again.

Two job opportunities for Leo in the space of an hour? Seeing Lincoln hours after complaining to Jemma that she rarely saw him? It was either fate or some very happy coincidences; Daisy didn't mind either way.

…

"That's amazing!" Jemma exclaimed through the phone as Daisy walked from her car towards the entrance of the gym.

"I know, right? Phil sent a reply asking for Leo's details, and I think this job is practically a given. You might just get some fancy jewellery out of this." Daisy laughed happily.

"He's going to be so pleased, Daisy. Thank you for even putting his name out there." Jemma said appreciatively.

"Hey, I owe him one for the cheesecake fiasco." Daisy shuddered as the memories came flooding back to her. "Right, I'm just heading into the gym now. I'll call you after."

"Okay, hope you don't blush too much." Jemma teased.

"Oh, shut up. See you later." Daisy giggled, hanging up the phone and heading inside the gym.

Even though she rarely went to the gym, Daisy appreciated the look and feel of the place. The colour scheme of it all was a variation of shades of blue, with a modern design to the building not dissimilar to SciOps.

The reception desk presented itself as soon as Daisy walked through a corridor of lockers; she walked up to it and was greeted with a smiling receptionist.

"Hi, Lincoln Campbell asked me to come and see him?" Daisy offered, and a relief filled her when a look of recognition came over the receptionist's face.

"Oh, yes. His office is through the dark blue doors and the second door on the right."

"Thank you." Daisy smiled, following the instructions with purpose. Soon enough, she found a door with 'L. CAMPBELL' written on it with small metal letters. The door was slightly ajar; she peered her head in and saw the room was empty.

 _I'll just wait for him inside._

She slipped into the room and briefly looked around. It was a good sized room, with a window offering a view of the swimming pool, a neatly organised desk and shelving units scattered along the walls. In the corner were some dumbbells and a treadmill. Daisy blushed as she imagined Lincoln working out and getting all sweaty.

She didn't have to imagine for long; the sound of the door being pushed open caused Daisy to turn around, where she was met with the sight of Lincoln staring at her in slight shock. His body glistened with sweat, clearing having just finished some kind of workout. He was shirtless, wearing only some black shorts and his trademark red converse; attempting to keep her jaw shut was the most rigorous exercise Daisy had done in months.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were here. I feel a tad underdressed." Lincoln admitted with slight embarrassment.

"It's fine." Daisy said. _If anything you're still wearing too much._

"I've just had a session on the salmon ladder, so excuse my sweatiness." Lincoln chuckled, grabbing a grey hoodie that was hung on the back of his desk chair and putting it on, though not doing it up as if he wanted to purposefully make Daisy drool.

"I wrote all the details down for you, anyway." Daisy said, trying to look at Lincoln's _eyes_. She handed him a slip of paper with Leo's name, phone number and email address, having got the details from Jemma earlier (and adding his number into her phone to terrorise him anonymously at a later date).

"Awesome, thank you so much, Daisy." Lincoln smiled.

"My pleasure, really." Daisy nodded.

"It's nice that Jemma found someone, too." Lincoln noted.

"You…you know her name?" Daisy asked.

"Yeah, you've mentioned her once or twice."

"Oh, I…I didn't think you were ever actually listening to my ramblings." Daisy chuckled.

"I guess you must be very interesting." Lincoln said, that glint she saw in his eyes earlier making itself known once again.

"Says the guy who part owns a gym and works in a software development company on the side. You should have your own show." Daisy grinned and Lincoln laughed.

"Only in London, right? It's why I moved here."

Silence for a moment.

"Well, I'll leave you to your salmon laddering." Daisy smirked.

Lincoln chuckled. "Hey, I've done my work out for the day. I'm going in the Jacuzzi." Lincoln smiled.

Daisy looked at him quickly and fiercely. "You have a Jacuzzi?!"

"Yeah! You didn't know that? I thought you were a member here?"

"I am, but that doesn't mean I come." Daisy laughed, and Lincoln laughed with her.

"I suppose that's fair. It's not like you need to go to the gym anyway." Lincoln said. Daisy blushed a little.

"That's very nice of you to say."

"Well, there's a chance you paid for my laptop case, so…" Lincoln smirked.

"Keeping the customers happy, I get it."

"…Anyway, I'll be contacting your friend within the next few days. Thanks for helping a guy out." Lincoln said.

"Anytime. I kinda owed him one anyway." Daisy said.

"How come?" Lincoln asked.

"Oh, it's a long story." Daisy noted.

"Okay…we better go get a coffee then." Lincoln said, looking straight into Daisy's eyes.

"Um…I didn't know you served coffee here." Daisy said. Lincoln smiled nervously.

"We don't."

…

"Is she there? I want to thank her." Leo asked over the phone as Jemma lay on her bed, thirty minutes into a conversation about how their days had gone as well as the gossip on the two jobs Daisy had landed for Leo.

"No, she's still out. It's been a while, actually." Jemma noted.

"She's still out with that Lincoln guy?"

"I assume so."

"Maybe she'd just stuck in traffic." Leo suggested.

A suspicion entered Jemma's head, which quickly turned to hope. She smiled.

"Yeah, maybe."


	14. Chapter 14

Melinda sat at her desk, flicking through photo after photo while Leo patiently waited on the red couch placed nearby. The Thursday shoot he'd been hired by her for had gone very well (at least he believed it had) and he had spent the previous ten minutes nervously waiting for any inkling of an opinion from her. She must have shuffled through his photographs at least three times. Her face was unreadable.

Eventually she spoke up. "…This is very good work, Leo."

 _Thank the Lord for that._ "I'm glad you think so." Leo sighed with relief.

"I've been trying to narrow the choices down to use for the final piece, but each shot offers something so unique. I might have to get some colleagues on board to help. All the credit to you for forcing me to have to do that." Melinda nodded, a hint of a smile on her face.

"Thank you. I'm…well, I'm really glad you like them." Leo nodded.

"You really do have a true talent for this. I'm…I'm glad Jemma found your blog."

"Believe me, so am I." Leo grinned. Melinda definitely _did_ smile that time.

"From what I've seen, you two make a wonderful pair. She was always so bright and cheerful – it's one of the reasons I hired her – but you bring out even more joy in her, more than I thought possible." She said.

Leo was touched to see such a different side of Melinda, one he really liked. "If anything, I'm the one who's benefitting from all of this. Honestly, meeting Jemma and working for you…it reignited my passion for all this. I was starting to lose faith in myself and my career choice."

"Well, be safe in the knowledge that you'll find regular employment here. And not because you're my PA's boyfriend, but because you're very talented."

Leo nodded appreciatively as he stood up and exited Melinda's office. He headed right for Jemma's desk, where her face lit up at the sight of him. "Did she like them?"

"Loved them." He grinned.

"I knew she would! I'm very proud of you." Jemma smiled, leaning over and kissing Leo passionately. "And guess what? I got a rare Daisy sighting this morning."

"No way." Leo said. In the past few days sightings of Daisy had been few and far between; she claimed to be at work but if that were the case she had been working some ridiculous hours. Ever since her meeting with Lincoln at the gym she'd barely been home; Jemma and Leo were pretty sure why, of course, but Daisy was never around long enough to be confronted about it.

"Way! To be fair to the girl, she actually _was_ dressed for work this time." Jemma chuckled. If her suspicions about Daisy and Lincoln were correct, she was over the moon for them, especially as Daisy had been feeling down about her love life. With things going so well with Leo, Bobbi and Lance going strong, and Daisy potentially involved with someone, there was next to nothing to complain about these days. It was rare Jemma wasn't smiling.

…

Leo was hit was the sound of a shower running as he opened the apartment door, so was surprised to see that Lance was actually sat on the couch. He was shirtless but wearing jeans and surprisingly clean white socks (Lance didn't tend to ever wash his clothes that often, instead preferring to just buy new ones). "How did it go?"

"Amazingly." Leo smiled, dropping his things onto the floor and switching the kettle on. "Care to explain the half-nakedness or do I not want to know?"

"Let's just say you're lucky you didn't walk in five minutes ago. Bobbi's popped in the shower." Lance grinned.

Leo winced. "Lovely. You working tonight?"

"I am indeed. Bobbi's doing a midnight shoot for some sort of magazine so I'm doing some overtime. You got any plans?"

"Not sure yet. If Jemma's not over then I'll probably get some prepping done on those two jobs Daisy got for me." Leo explained.

"It's about time I met this Daisy, you know. We could team up to ruin all your dates." Lance smirked.

"I'd like to see you try." Leo smiled. It would take a hell of a lot to sour the feeling of being close to Jemma.

Lance stood up and let his jeans drop to the floor and shook them off, leaving him in just his boxers. Leo looked bewildered. "Look mate, I'm flattered but I have a girlfriend."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Funny."

"What are you doing?"

"A gentleman shouldn't let his girlfriend shower alone." Lance smirked and rushed into the bathroom, leaving Leo simultaneously amused and disgusted, something he'd gotten used to feeling when it came to his roommate.

…

Daisy had learned to at least try and hide where she'd been going every day. She wasn't sure if leaving the apartment in work clothes was actually fooling Jemma into thinking she'd been going to work at all, but she didn't truly care either way. Should she have called in sick for the past few days? No. Did she regret doing it? Also no. Instead of doing work she was doing Lincoln, and she much preferred that.

As she sat up in his bed waiting for him to finish preparing them both some food (he'd insisted she continue keeping her clothes off her body, and she didn't argue), she finally started processing what had happened in the past week. Going out for a coffee became coffee at his place. Coffee at his place became kissing. Kissing became-

-Daisy found herself blushing ferociously at the mere thought of what she and Lincoln had been doing. It had been – quite literally – a hell of a ride. It's funny how your life could turn around in mere moments.

Lincoln's bedroom door opened and Lincoln came back in wearing only some jogging bottoms and carrying a wooden tray packed with fresh sandwiches, bowls of soup and a selection of biscuits. He placed it gently in front of Daisy before placing himself next to her. "Sorry it's not much; I need to go shopping."

"It's amazing, thank you. Much better than anything I could do, I'll tell you that much. Do _not_ ask me to make a cheesecake." Daisy warned.

"Noted." Lincoln smiled. "Soup's still a bit hot so tread carefully."

"Let's hope I don't spill any on your bottoms. You'd have to take them off." Daisy smirked.

Lincoln chuckled, tracing a line up and down Daisy's back with a finger. "I have a feeling that will be the outcome either way."

"I have a feeling your feeling may be right." Daisy said, leaning over and kissing Lincoln gently before absorbing a sandwich. Lincoln looked on amusedly.

"Hungry?"

"I'm ravenous literally all the time." Daisy stated as she chomped.

"Don't I know it...?" Lincoln said suggestively. Daisy looked at him and smiled as she playfully nudged him.

"Maybe we could actually grab that coffee later on?" Daisy suggested after finishing a sandwich and tentatively trying the soup, careful not to spill any on the sheets.

Lincoln chuckled. "Yeah, we never actually got one, did we?"

"Which is impressive since that was the only thing on the agenda at the time."

"Speak for yourself. How do you know this wasn't my masterplan to get you into my bed?" Lincoln teased.

"You don't seem like someone with a masterplan unless it's about exercise. You seem to go with the flow. _Was_ this your plan all along?" Daisy wondered with a smile, already knowing the answer.

"Of course not." Lincoln said softly, taking on of Daisy's hands in his. "I'm glad it turned out this way, though. These past few days…they've been amazing."

Daisy squeezed his hand tighter. "I feel exactly the same."

"Well that's good. Maybe we should forget the coffee and go out to dinner? Do the proper first date thing?" Lincoln suggested.

"Maybe I wanted coffee."

"Then order one at the restaurant."

"Look at you, being all handsome and clever." Daisy squeezed Lincoln's chin playfully. "I do have to warn you, I've been made aware of some pretty damn good dates recently, so you better bring the house down."

"I promise to do my utmost." Lincoln smiled, moving a stray strand of hair out of Daisy's eye. "Is the soup any good?"

Lincoln shoved a spoonful of soup into his mouth and stayed silent for a moment, turning to Daisy. "You're eating this out of kindness, aren't you?"

"It takes like feet." Daisy burst out laughing.

"I do think those cans have been in the cupboard for a very long time." Lincoln chuckled.

"The sandwiches are great though, and the biscuits." Daisy nodded, resting her head on Lincoln's bare shoulder.

"Thank you; I mean, sandwiches are hard to make, as I'm sure you know, and sometimes the 'tear here' part of the biscuit packet doesn't work, so…" Lincoln grinned.

"You're a saint." Daisy laughed.

"Damn straight." Lincoln smiled. Daisy's eyes became fire as she dropped her spoon into Lincoln's lap, staining his jogging bottoms. "Oh, that's unfortunate."

"What a terrible accident."

Lincoln's bottoms flew to the floor, alongside a few biscuits, sandwich remnants and two bowls of soup. Unsurprisingly, at least for the moment, he didn't mind about the mess all that much.

…

Leo had gone over the briefings for his two latest jobs and brainstormed ideas for them both when there was a knock on the door. He answered it and was both shocked and delighted to be met with the sight of a huge stuffed monkey.

"I've had some work done." The monkey said in a voice not too dissimilar to Leo's girlfriend.

"I've never been more attracted to you." Leo smirked as the monkey toy lowered to show Jemma holding it with a huge grin on her face. "Oh actually, that's better. Much more beautiful."

Jemma giggled as she placed the monkey down and kissed Leo passionately. "Thought I'd surprise you, and I saw that in the window at Hamley's and I remember you saying you'd always wanted a huge stuffed monkey since you were a little boy and I instantly thought of you and I had to buy it."

"You are the sweetest person in the world." Leo grinned.

"He even has a little tartan bow tie on, too! As soon as I saw that I was even more sold on it. You can keep him here but I think we need to both decide on his name." Jemma stated happily.

"I'm sure we'll come up with something. Thank you, I adore him." Leo said, kissing Jemma on the cheek as he lifted the monkey up and brought it into the living room, planting it onto the armchair next to the couch. "Tea?"

"You read my mind. Oh, did I interrupt your work?" Jemma asked, noting the brainstorms and notes Leo had made and placed on the table.

"You do not interrupt anything, Jemma Simmons, only enlighten. Heard anything more from Daisy?"

"Just another text saying she's working late. She's doing a very poor job of covering up that she's clearly with Lincoln." Jemma smiled, shaking her head.

"Ah, the honeymoon phase. Do you think it'll ever fade for us?"

"Never." Jemma smiled as she joined Leo in the kitchen and kissed him.

"That's what I thought." Leo beamed. "What do you fancy doing tonight?"

"Apart from you?" Jemma smirked, blushing nonetheless.

"Well, after me, of course." Leo chuckled.

"I feel like a movie night. Considering our new friend over there maybe we should carry on with the 'Planet of the Apes' boxset?" Jemma suggested, looking at the stuffed monkey.

Leo's face lit up. "Yes! The next one's great – 'Escape from the Planet of the Apes'. The next two after that are a bit of a drag but then we get to the 2011 reboot and my god are those films amazing. Let's not discuss the 2001 remake."

"Whatever you say, my handsome nerd." Jemma smiled, wrapping her arms around Leo's waist as he poured two cups of tea.

They soon cuddled up on the couch to watch the film; afterwards they had their usual critical conversation about the themes of the movie and their likes and dislikes. Jemma got up to make another tea and came back to discover Leo had fallen asleep stretched out on the sofa. Unable to part from him just yet, Jemma delicately snuggled next to him and drifted off to sleep to the rhythm of his heart.

They were woken at 4am by the sound of keys in the apartment door. Sitting up and rubbing their eyes, they both could just make out Lance stumbling in through the darkness of the early morning.

"…Morning lovebirds." Lance mumbled; clearly he'd taken advantage of his job at the nightclub.

"Good shift?" Leo yawned.

"Pretty quiet, actually. I -" Lance stopped suddenly, squinting as hard as he could before fumbling for the light switch. He flicked it on and jumped back in surprise and horror. "Okay, am I crazy or is there a giant bloody monkey in that armchair?"

Leo and Jemma turned to look at the stuffed monkey, then looked at one another and then back at Lance. "What monkey?"

"THAT ONE!"

"How much have you had, mate?" Leo asked.

"Only one or two, tops. You're having me on, aren't you? Jemma, are you being honest?"

"Quite so! There's clearly nothing there, Lance. Maybe you should get some sleep? Clear your head?" Jemma said. Leo turned away to hide his smile as Lance's face became a picture of confusion and fear.

"…Uh, yeah…okay…goodnight…" Lance whispered, slowly making his way across the room to his bedroom door, his eyes unwavering from the monkey until he closed his door.

The second the door closed, Leo and Jemma burst into fits of loud laughter, falling back into the couch as they heard Lance shout from inside his room.

"Oh, you bastards!"

…

Melinda was prepared for a busy day ahead. She had a long string of meetings, equipment to order and models to train. Getting in at 6.30am was the only way she could possibly get everything done she needed to do.

She hurried along the street towards May's Modelling, wrapped up in her long fur coat to keep out the chilly morning air. As she reached the stairs leading up to the entrance and saw someone sat at the top, she stopped dead. She no longer felt the cold as she let her arms down and coat blow in the breeze; she felt numb all over.

The man on the top step stood up and calmly walked down them until he stood face to face with Melinda for the first time in years. Melinda didn't think she'd ever be this close to him again.

"Hello, Melinda."

"…Andrew."


	15. Chapter 15

Jemma happily skipped through the front door of May's Modelling right on time and headed upstairs to her desk. As she climbed the stairs, she slowed down; she could hear voices coming from May's office – loud, angry voices. One was definitely Melinda, but the other – while definitely male – she couldn't exactly pinpoint, yet there was a familiarity to it.

She unpacked her things at her desk and sat awkwardly through the muffled argument bellowing from the nearby office. Try as she might, she couldn't work out what was being said frequently enough to fathom what the heated debate was about. She'd never heard Melinda sound quite so angry before. It was terrifying to say the least.

The office door suddenly flew open. Panicked, Jemma hopped off her stool and hid behind her desk. She could only hear footsteps approaching the way out.

"You couldn't at least _try_ and be reasonable?" The male voice accused.

"I'm the only one who ever was! Now get out and I swear to god if I ever see your face in my building again I will sue you for harassment!" Melinda roared as she exited her office but remained at her open door.

"…I don't care how much you threaten me, Melinda…this needs to be worked out. For both of our sakes! How about you give me a call when you want to act your age, since you love having the power so much."

With that, Jemma heard the man walk out and begin his descent down the steps towards the exit of the building. As the noise faded, Jemma remained frozen in place and unsure of what to do next. Was Melinda still there? Had she gone back in her office?

"You can come out now, Jemma."

 _Ah._

Jemma sheepishly stood up and smiled shyly at Melinda. "Good morning."

"Your stuff was laid out on your desk, guessed you were hiding. Sorry you had to hear that." Melinda said.

"…Who was that?" Jemma dared to ask.

Melinda let out a sigh. "Andrew Garner. The man who'd been phoning after me lately."

Jemma nodded understanding, now realising why she recognised his voice from somewhere. "Why was he here?"

"He was waiting for me this morning; said he was fed up of me blatantly ignoring him. Asshole."

"Well…you _were_ ignoring him." Jemma shrugged.

"Yes, to avoid yet another fight that never solves anything like the one just then." Melinda explained.

"…Can I ask what it was all about?"

"Business stuff, mostly. We came into this industry together and he's trying to claw his way into my company." Melinda revealed.

"So…you two used to be close, then?" Jemma wondered.

Melinda smiled for a very, very brief moment and shrugged. "We used to be married."

…

Daisy chugged yet another cup of coffee as she caught up on her emails. She couldn't exactly say she'd missed sitting alone in her office at work over the last few days, especially considering what (well, who) she had been doing instead of working.

There was a knock on her glass door; she looked up to see the beaming face of her boss, Phil Coulson, smiling at her. As he entered, another familiar figure followed in behind him – Leo.

"There she is! I have a new nickname for you – Star Finder. Because YOU found this man right here, and this man is a STAR." Phil grinned, patting Leo on the back enthusiastically. "What do you think?"

"I think you should keep brainstorming." Daisy nodded with a smile.

"I'll come out with a good one eventually. I'll leave you both to it. Leo, I cannot thank you enough. The snaps all look AMAZING. AMAZING." Phil beamed, shaking Leo's hand.

"My pleasure." Leo nodded.

"Excellent! I can't wait to see the updated site! See you two bright sparks later!" Phil said with two thumbs up as he hurriedly walked out of the office.

"Well, Chris Traeger over there is certainly a joyful soul." Leo grinned.

Daisy laughed. "He can be a bit overbearing at times, but he's a sweet enough guy. All finished up then?"

"Yep. Just thought I'd pop in and said hello before I went. By the way, your portrait is by far my favourite." Leo said.

"Please tell me Phil didn't choose the one where I went cross-eyed." Daisy sighed.

"Of course not! I was allowed to choose yours, so technically _I_ chose the one where you went cross-eyed." Leo chuckled.

"You suck."

"You sound like Lance." Leo said. "Just have the job with your boyfriend tomorrow now."

Daisy blushed. "…Excuse me?"

"You go for a meeting with Lincoln and practically vanish for a few days? We didn't exactly think you'd gone skiing." Leo smirked.

Daisy shrugged in defeat and smiled through her red cheeks. "Jemma's gonna badger me about this a hell of a lot, isn't she?"

"Well you did the same to her over me, so I'm gonna take a stab at the answer to that being a resounding 'yes'." Leo chuckled.

"Thought so. Crap." Daisy sighed playfully.

"Either way, I'm really happy for you. Jemma was kinda worried that you were lonely." Leo said.

"I was, but now…well, you know what they say; the stars shine brightest on the darkest nights." Daisy smiled. "Thank you."

"See you around. Can't wait to meet your lover boy." Leo chuckled as he walked out of the office.

"I'll throw my stapler at you, Leopold! Don't think I won't!"

…

That evening, Leo and Jemma went out for dinner at one of the few romantic restaurants they had yet to try. They had compiled a portfolio of each one they had visited and made notes and ratings on their experience for future reference.

"What're you thinking?" Leo asked as Jemma tried the yellowy soup in front of her.

"…Three, maybe three and a half stars." Jemma replied. "Anyway, how was work today? Did it all go well?"

"It's sweet that you're pretending to care when you just wanna know if I spoke to Daisy about Lincoln." Leo smiled sweetly.

Jemma grinned, taking Leo's hand across the table. "You know me far too well."

"And what a joy that is." Leo chuckled. "And, I'll just say that you'll want to be talking to her about it because there is love in the air."

"I _knew_ it! Oh, this is so exciting! We could go on double dates!" Jemma exclaimed excitedly.

"Perhaps let them go on a proper date themselves first." Leo laughed.

"They haven't been on an official date yet? What have they been doing?" Jemma asked, then sighed in realisation as Leo held back laughter. "Never mind."

"You're adorable. Have I told you that before?" Leo smiled.

"Maybe once or twice." Jemma blushed. "How's the beer?"

"Honestly, it's absolute piss."

Jemma laughed out loud, spitting yellow soup onto the pure white tablecloth. Several nearby tables stared at her and Leo in horror. They looked at one another and tried their best not to burst out laughing in the otherwise pleasantly calm restaurant.

"Apologies." Jemma whispered to a horrified woman sat on the table next to them. The woman rolled her eyes and returned to her own food. Jemma groaned. "Blimey, lighten up my dear."

She looked back at Leo, who was laughing lightly and staring at her with wide, beautiful blue eyes. "What?"

Leo shrugged with a smile, eyes still fixed on her as he rested his chin on one hand. "Nothing. I just…nothing."

"No, go on…what?" Jemma chuckled.

"Nothing at all." Leo grinned, looking at the yellow stains of soup on the tablecloth. "Reminds me of those ink blots they show at the psychiatrists to see what you can see in the images."

"What do you see, then?" Jemma wondered.

"Laa-Laa got hit by a truck." Leo smirked and Jemma laughed. "You?"

Jemma inspected her mess for a moment, deep in thought. "An explosion in the Simpsons family home."

Leo laughed loudly again, attracting more glares from nearby customers eating at other tables. "Blimey, I don't think this lot know what it is to be happy."

"I am slightly concerned that I've stained the tablecloth."

"Don't be; they'll have loads to spare. Blame my incredible comedic skill." Leo smiled.

"Oh, I couldn't do that; they'll throw you in jail if they heard some of your awful jokes." Jemma teased.

"I'll have you know, Jemma Simmons, that I was called Class Clown at school!" Leo stated.

"Really?"

"Yeah! I wrote it on my school picture myself!" Leo joked and Jemma giggled again. "I'm about ninety percent sure I'm addicted to your laugh."

"Only ninety? I must do better then." Jemma grinned.

Leo returned to his previous state of resting his chin on his hand and smiling at her.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Jemma asked with a smile.

"Because you're beautiful." Leo smiled. "And you're gonna be a hell of a model one day."

"Maybe. One day…for now, I've got lots of admin and scheduling to deal with. Melinda's ex-husband came into work today. Wants some of the business for himself, according to her." Jemma explained.

"I didn't know she'd been married." Leo said.

"Neither did I! It was strange listening to her argue with him. She held her own and was clearly being strong as always, but I don't know…it's like she was on the verge of completely losing her cool, you know? Like she'd reached her limit. I'd never heard such a near loss of control in her voice before." Jemma explained.

Still staring, Leo raised his eyebrows. "Only listening? You didn't see her with him?"

Jemma looked down timidly. "I may have been hiding behind my desk."

Leo laughed again, his face lighting up like the birth of a beautiful new day. He stayed staring at her as he had been and was silent for a while. "…Jemma?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Jemma felt her breathing stop as she looked at Leo. He looked at her as if she were the last star that ever existed and was about to burn out; she only recognised that look because she knew that's how she looked at him. It was how she looked at him when she woke up in the middle of the night and watched him sleep for a little while. How she looked at him when he told an awful joke. How she looked at him when he burst into the room and fell flat on his face in front of her. How she looked at him no matter what he did. How she always planned on looking at him.

She'd heard the words before, of course. Hell, she'd said them to others before. But she had never felt like this upon hearing them; it was like she'd just heard them for the first time. Leo Fitz could make those three little words sound brand new.

"I love you too." She smiled. His face lit up like the hottest of flames.

"Well that's good then, because that could have been -"

"- Hang on a minute." Jemma interrupted, taking Leo's hands as tears stung the back of her eyes. "Just…just give me a minute. I want to take in everything about this moment. Because this is what perfection feels like, and looks like. Perfection looks like you."

Leo said nothing; he simply leant over the table and kissed the woman he loved with all he had. They forgot about the judgmental customers and the stained tablecloth. They even managed to forget about their work and the drama of their friends' loves lives for just those few precious moments. They were just a girl who was in love with a boy, and a boy who was in love with a girl. Beautifully simple and beautifully complex at the same time.

"…Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"Your tie is in my soup."

"Shit."

They laughed until they cried, and even the fiercest of glares from those around them couldn't even hope to pierce the happiness they felt.


End file.
